About Me

My name is James C. Stewart, III (I go by Jay), and I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Florida State University.

My academic focus is rooted in my experience living in Germany, where I earned a TELC B2 German certification and observed firsthand both the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the authoritarian backlash to it. This experience directly inspired my undergraduate thesis on far-right parties and the Syrian refugee crisis and continues to drive my doctoral research.

Since beginning my graduate studies at FSU, I have co-authored a publication in Oxford Bibliographies and received the FSU Political Science Department's Best Practicum Award. In addition to my research, I am actively involved in departmental service as the Vice-President of the Political Science Graduate Student Association (PSGSA) and the department representative for Graduate Assistants United (GAU).

My teaching experience is broad. I have designed and taught my own course, The European Radical Right in a Comparative Perspective, and taught Understanding Political Science Research (Undergraduate Research Methods) as well as Introduction to Comparative Politics.

This photo from https://www.ft.com/content/abb50ada-1664-11e8-9376-4a6390addb44

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EDUCATION

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Causal Inference using Observational Data

As researchers, we often can't randomly assign the independent variable, making causal inference more difficult. Fortunately, the causal inference revolution has given researcher more and more tools for design based inference.

Democratic Backsliding

At the heart of liberal democracy is a tension between majority rule and constraints against the majority. How do politicians exacerbate these tensions, and how do people navigate these issues?

Right-Wing Extremism

Considering that the right-wing AfD gained seats in the Bundestag, is this a temporary aberration, or has right-wing extremism reentered German mainstream politics?

2016 - 2017

iOR Sprachschule

TELC B2 level certificate: German

2018 - 2020

New College of Florida

Political Science & German Literature and Language

2021 - Present

Florida State University

Political Science PhD

Climate Change Public Opinion

Considering the existential threat that climate change poses to humankind, and the scientific community's strong agreement on the deleterious effects of climate change, why is public opinion on climate change so mixed?

Random Fun Facts About me

I've had KFC on three continents
In 4th grade, I placed 8th in the Florida State National Geographic Geography Bee
I was a National Merit Scholar
I ran the 2018 Dreiländerlauf, a half-marathon that goes through Switzerland, France, and Germany