Marc Hetherington

To say that this has been a crazy year in politics is a laugh-out-loud understatement. We turn to the experts in Vanderbilt’s renowned political science department for insight not only into the 2016 presidential race, but also into the future of U.S. politics itself. Read More

Many of Donald Trump’s supporters share a view of the world as a chaotic, threatening place that is changing too rapidly, says a political scientist at Vanderbilt University, and this authoritarian outlook may be what’s drawing them to the strong rhetoric of Trump. Read More

President Obama is set to talk to the nation on Jan. 12 for his final State of the Union address. Vanderbilt has an array of experts available. Read More

President Obama is set to talk to the nation on Jan. 20 for his State of the Union address. Vanderbilt has an array of experts available to comment. Read More

John Geer, Marc Hetherington and Bruce Oppenheimer of Vanderbilt University are available to comment on the Nov. 4 election. Read More

Alan Wiseman's research shows that women lawmakers, particularly ones in the minority party, are more effective than their male counterparts when it comes to negotiating and getting things done--as they did to end the government shutdown. Read More

Policymakers in Washington, D.C., increasingly are earning the distrust of the American people, and the current impasse that led to a government shutdown is no exception, according to Marc Hetherington, a political science professor and author of two books on trust and polarization in American government. Read More

Hope is being offered by Vanderbilt professor Marc Hetherington and a colleague that generational turnover and a few adjustments now could cause the end of gridlock in Congress in the long run. Read More

Watch video of Marc Hetherington, professor of political science, speaking at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Feb. 8 class, “Polarization and Congress,” focuses on the branch of government where polarization first took hold, tracing the evolution of the regional bases for the parties and… Read More

Watch video of Marc Hetherington, professor of political science, speak at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Jan. 11 class, “Polarization and Congress,” focuses on the branch of government where polarization first took hold, tracing the evolution of the regional bases for the parties and… Read More

If you think that the word ‘compromise’ is a lost art in Congress, you are right. Marc Hetherington, professor of politcial science and co-author of the book Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics, tells us why our political leaders are digging in their heels. View 2012 election expertise information… Read More

Vanderbilt experts are available to discuss issues related to 9/11 anniversary. Read More

Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics, co-authored by Vanderbilt political scientist Marc Hetherington, focuses on the reasons behind the political realignment of the past several decades. More liberals are voting for Democrats and more conservatives are choosing GOP candidates, Hetherington said. Read More

The recent vote in Congress on health care reform – with only one Republican lawmaker voting yes – provides more evidence of the growing polarization between the parties and the fundamentally different understandings of right and wrong that continue to pull the two major political parties further apart, according to Vanderbilt University political scientist Marc Hetherington. Read More

Political pundits have time to reflect in the days ahead on the reasons behind Barack Obama's historic election as the first African American president, but the president-elect must focus immediately on his transition and the challenges ahead, according to several Vanderbilt professors. Read More

A Vanderbilt University political scientist says the largely white, affluent suburbs around Philadelphia could boost Barack Obama\'s chances of a surprise win in the April 22 Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Read More

George W. Bush‘s best efforts to rally public support for Social Security privatization have met with failure. Although more people now perceive a problem, few perceive a crisis. Worse for the president, two months of salesmanship have actually lowered his approval rating on the issue. People do not seem to want private accounts if it means fundamental changes to a program that has a strong track record of success. Read More

A bipartisan program called Congress to Campus will bring former national lawmakers James Broyhill and Butler Derrick to Vanderbilt March 17-18 to meet with students and faculty. Read More

A decline in the level of America's trust in government began nearly 40 years ago, and a continuation of that trend in 2004 would benefit President George W. Bush, according to Vanderbilt political scientist Marc Hetherington. He is the author of Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism. Read More