Associate Professor of Political Science, Case Western Reserve University
Justin Buchler studies elections, political parties and Congress. He has written extensively on the nature of competitive elections and their place in democracy. His 2011 book, Hiring and Firing Public Officials: Rethinking the Purpose of Elections (Oxford University Press), argues that competitive elections are paradoxically unhealthy for democracy because they are not analogous to competitive markets. Rather, they are poor ways of hiring and firing people. Tossing a coin to decide whether or not to fire an employee is a bad way to operate, for a business or a country.
Professor Buchler’s articles on electoral competition include “The Social Sub-optimality of Competitive Elections,” in Public Choice, which won the Gordon Tullock Prize for 2007.
Currently, Professor Buchler’s research addresses the use of spatial theory to study elections, the asymmetric nature of partisan conflict, and the burden it places on journalism.
Professor Buchler currently blogs at theunmutual.blogspot.com
Does nonpartisan journalism have a future?
Jan 06, 2017 02:54 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
The nonpartisan model of journalism is built around the norm of covering politics as though both parties are equally guilty of all offenses. The 2016 campaign stressed that model to the breaking point with one candidate ...
Can Mike Pence solve Trump's outsider problem with Congress?
Nov 16, 2016 12:18 pm UTC| Politics
What role will Mike Pence play in the White House? Donald Trump selected Pence as his vice presidential running mate to address his political vulnerabilities within the Republican Party. The Republican establishment was...
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