My research is situated at the intersection of urban politics, the politics of race and ethnicity, and American Political Development.  Three parallel projects related to this substance will contribute to my dissertation project and subsequent research agenda.  The first examines the institutional and social causes and consequences of electoral competition in the 50 largest cities throughout the 20th century, with special attention to the interplay between electoral institutions and ethnic diversity.  The second focuses on urban representation in Congress over the course of American political history, examining moments of strength and legislative success.  The third is an original public opinion survey of six large American cities (the 2010 City Neighborhoods Study) examining the racial politics of rapidly changing neighborhoods.

I am also interested, substantively, in the role of the “liminal state” in the exercise of force on populations in American politics, from the early 18th century to the present and in the causal role played by space and place in political phenomena.  

Methodologically, my research integrates several approaches of data analysis and collection—statistics, survey implementation, large-N set-theory, case studies, historical institutionalism, some formal theory, and Geographic Information Systems.