Politics and Government

“3 Body Problem,” a Netflix adaptation of the popular Chinese sci-fi novel by the same name, is causing controversy in China for its depiction of the Cultural Revolution. How do the Chinese people see this crucial period of their history? Madeleine Dong, professor of history at the UW, is interviewed.

You are voting for the first time. Your ballot arrives. But you can’t read it. The text is too small. And when you come to the candidates’ names, they look something like this: T *&%$@(“&^, T>>%@)%|\^^. Such was the experience—more or less—of many older residents of the Chinatown International-District (CID) before the Nov. 2023 elections, according to multiple organizations sponsoring a get-out-the vote event. Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.

The 2024 presidential election will potentially trigger even more people to move both within and outside of the US. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is mentioned.

"The death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, announced on Feb. 16, 2024, lays bare to the world the costs of political persecutions. Although his cause of death remains unknown, the 47-year-old died while serving a 19-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony," writes James Long, professor of political science at the UW.

Conditions in the immigrant detention facility have garnered over 300 complaints, but a law to increase state oversight is still tied up in court. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice and of international studies and director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is quoted.

A year into Seattle Public Schools' lawsuit against social media companies, the case is gaining traction. More than 50 school districts in Washington state — and dozens more across the country — have joined Seattle’s lawsuit. Lucía Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

The shock of 2016 spurred his critics to fight. A 2024 repeat could prompt flight instead. Megan Ming Francis, an associate professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Historically, presidential candidates and their teams have weighed a number of factors — including public opinion and political experience — before making a decision on the number two slot sometime around the party conventions. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

Boeing is still a force locally, both in influence and sheer numbers. The company still receives very generous tax benefits from Washington, notes Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW. Yet its presence in the region isn’t top of mind for many anymore.

In the first of the history department’s annual History Lecture Series, Professor Emeritus John Findlay presented “City and Citizens: Seattleites and Their Rights, 1850-2000,” reflecting on different groups that have immigrated to Seattle.

As the nation’s political attention now turns toward the Hawkeye state, WalletHub compared Iowa’s demographic likeness and public opinions with the U.S. using 22 key metrics. James Long, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

You don’t interrupt your quiet life in a Seattle suburb and book a plane ticket to war-torn Sudan unless you have a really good reason. Not right now, in the middle of a brutal conflict between rival forces that’s killed more than 12,000 people and displaced 7 million. Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

The Chinese government has for decades periodically announced the imminent abolition of its decades-old household registration system, or hukou. The Ministry of Public Security fanned hopes in August of the beginning of the end of hukou by announcing the government would scrap its restrictions in cities with populations of 3 to 5 million. But Chinese policymakers are now backpedaling on that plan. Kam Wing Chan, professor of geography at the UW, is quoted.

Turnout for this year’s November election was the lowest on record since Washington started keeping track in 1936. Statewide, 36.41% of registered voters returned their ballot in 2023. That beats the previous low of 37.1%, held in another odd-year election — 2017, and the one before that, 38.52% in 2015. Mark Smith, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

"Santos may be exceptional in how many lies he has told, but politicians seeking election have incentives to tell voters what they want to hear – and there is some empirical evidence that a willingness to lie may be helpful in the process of getting elected. Voters may not appreciate candidates who are unwilling or unable to mislead others from time to time," writes Michael Blake, professor of philosophy and of public policy and governance at the UW.