MIT Political Science

09/10/2026

Profs. Adam Berinsky, Chara Podimata, and Charles Stewart III lead a data collection effort documenting what A.I. systems say about an election.

“'Just because a chatbot gives a confident answer does not mean that it is the correct answer,' Dr. Berinsky said."

https://nytimes.com/2026/09/10/business/media/ai-chatbots-election-misinformation.html?searchResultPosition=7

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT Election Data and Science Lab

08/14/2026

Four professors and four PhD students from the MIT Political Science community have won awards from the American Political Science Association.

Three professors won best book awards:

Professor Kathleen Thelen
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-kathleen-thelen-wins-gladys-m-kammerer-award-best-book-field-us-national-policy

Professor Andrea Campbell
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-andrea-campbell-wins-best-book-field-class-and-inequality-american-political-science

Professor Erik Lin-Greenberg
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-erik-lin-greenberg-wins-best-book-foreign-policy-and-best-book-conflict-processes

Professor Ariel White won a best article award.
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-ariel-white-wins-best-article-civic-engagement-american-political-science

PhD students Angie Jo, Jerik Cruz, and Gabrielle Péloquin-Skulski won best paper awards, and Ye Zhang '26 also won a best paper award.
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/phd-students-jerik-cruz-angie-jo-gabrielle-peloquin-skulski-and-ye-zhang-win-apsa-awards

Congratulations to all!

Left to right: Professors Thelen, Campbell, Lin-Greenberg, and White.
Left to right: Jerik Cruz, Angie Jo, Gabrielle Péloquin-Skulski and Ye Zhang '26.

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

08/13/2026

The Pathways to Political Science Summer Research Program hosted its fourth cohort of interns this summer. Pathways@GDL is sponsored by the MIT Political Science Department and the Center for International Studies (MIT Center for International Studies (CIS)) in partnership with the MIT Summer Research Program. Professors Noah Nathan and Ariel White led the Pathways@GDL program. Pathways@GDL is planning for a fifth cohort in the summer of 2027.

Pathways@GDL is aimed at broadening the pipeline into US political science PhD programs. A masters student from University of Witwatersrand in South Africa joined undergraduates from universities in Florida, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington DC, mixing research assistant work and their own independent research projects, professionalizing their presentation of research, and exchanging information with each other and Department of Political Science faculty.

https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/pathways-political-science-summer-research-program-hosts-fourth-cohort

MIT Center for International Studies MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences University of Witwatersrand University of Florida Bard College North Carolina Central University Purdue University Howard University James Madison University

07/21/2026

Prof. Bailey Flanigan develops complex computational methods for helping democracy thrive.

https://news.mit.edu/2026/following-questions-where-they-lead-bailey-flanigan-0717

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

07/16/2026

Professor Kathleen Thelen's book Attention Shoppers! American Retail Capitalism and the Origins of the Amazon Economy has received the American Political Science Association Gladys M. Kammerer Award for the best book published during the previous calendar year in the field of U.S. national policy. Congratulations, Kathy!

https://politicalsciencenow.com/congratulations-to-the-2026-apsa-award-winners/

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

07/15/2026

Professor Erik Lin-Greenberg's book The Remote Revolution: Drones and Modern Statecraft has received the American Political Science Association Conflict Processes Section Award for Best Book on Conflict Processes of the Last Two Years. Congratulations, Erik!

https://apsanet.org/membership/organized-sections/organized-section-awards/past-awards/section-7/

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Security Studies Program MIT Center for International Studies

07/06/2026

U.S. Representative from the 4th District of Kentucky and MIT alumnus Thomas Massie generously shared his time, expertise, and advice with students in our MIT Washington Summer Internship Program and the University of Virginia Policy Internship Program.

MIT Washington Summer Internship Program
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/mit-washington-summer-interns-visit-us-representative-thomas-massie

07/01/2026

“The overarching pattern we find is that if you compare people who live in compound houses to residents of other housing types, like single-family homes or self-contained apartments, there is a pretty big difference in political actions,” says Prof. Noah Nathan.

https://news.mit.edu/2026/how-architecture-influences-political-activity-0625

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Center for International Studies

A new study in Ghana shows residents in semi-communal housing are more likely to vote, attend rallies, and take part in political campaigns, compared to people in more private forms of housing.

06/26/2026

Professor Lily L. Tsai has been named the next Concourse faculty director, starting August 1. Concourse is a first-year program that brings science into conversation with the humanities.

“Lily is an ideal leader for Concourse, as she is a natural at bringing disciplines into conversation with one another; has a deep understanding of the Institute and our academic programs, having served as chair of the MIT faculty from 2021-2023; and is committed to advancing innovative teaching and improving student advising.”

https://gue.mit.edu/news/introducing-the-new-concourse-faculty-director/

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Center for International Studies

06/25/2026

Summer is a great time to read The Remote Revolution: Drones and Modern Statecraft (Prof. Erik Lin-Greenberg) and Trade in War: Economic Cooperation Across Enemy Lines (Prof. Mariya Grinberg).

MIT Center for International Studies

A summer reading list featuring books by MIT faculty and staff that were published from July 2025 to June 2026.