NAS Lecture Series - The Presidential Elections

The U.S. Constitution and political system separate powers between branches and levels of government. Despite such division and decentralization of powers, national political-party competition, also over the presidency, has intensified within the states themselves. Yet, these trends have not produced more centralization, but make individual states more nationally relevant than ever, not least given their predominant authority over elections, including federal ones. Against this backdrop, Dr. Sonnicksen’s lecture focuses on the 2024 election in the larger context of how U.S. institutions of federalism and democracy interact, and interrogates the role of the states in the electoral process.