Jeff Selinger: Research Summary
Overview
Jeff Selinger's research interests include the study of political parties, race and American politics, public policy, and American political development. His first book, Embracing Dissent: Political Violence and Party Development in the United States (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), examined the ideas of legitimate opposition promoted by party leaders to prevent the outbreak of political violence.
Current Work
Selinger’s current research builds on this study, exploring patterns of democratic change during the Founding and Antebellum Eras. He believes that this research is especially pertinent in the current political climate, given the public's growing concern with backsliding or democratic regress. He has recently observed a special significance for his research in the wake of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, and in the study of the peaceful transfer of power. By applying social scientific concepts pertaining to democratization, racial identity formation, and party competition, Selinger hopes to further contextualize and understand American political development in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how patterns of early development have shaped the prospects for democratic change in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Student Opportunities
Selinger encourages those interested in these and related subjects to reach out to him by email.