Phone: 301.405.0906
Fax: 301.314.9690
Email: dkarol@umd.edu

David Karol studies parties, interest groups, political institutions and American political development. Before coming to the University of Maryland, he taught at American University, UC Berkeley and the UC Washington Center and was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. He won the "Emerging Scholar" Award for 2010 from the Political Organizations and Parties Section of the American Political Science Association.

In his recent book, Party Position Change in American Politics: Coalition Management (Cambridge University Press, 2009), David Karol explains key aspects of party position change: the speed of shifts, the stability of new positions, and the extent to which change occurs via adaptation by incumbents. He shows that these factors vary depending on whether parties are reacting to changed preferences of coalition components, incorporating new constituencies, or experimenting on “groupless” issues. Karol reveals that adaptation by incumbents is a far greater source of change than previously recognized.

David Karol's current research concerns the role of elite opinion in American politics, showing how it produces durable policy disagreements between congresses and presidents.

Degrees:

• Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
• M.A. Iowa State University
• B.A. Grinnell College

2009. Party Position Change in American Politics: Coalition Management. Cambridge University Press.

2009. Nominating the President: Evolution and Revolution in 2008 and Beyond. Rowman and Littlefield. (Co-edited with Jack Citrin).

2008. The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations before and after Reform. University of Chicago Press. (With Marty Cohen, Hans Noel, and John Zaller).

"A Theory of Political Parties: Groups, Policy Demands and Nominations in American Politics." (with Kathleen Bawn, Martin Cohen, Hans Noel and John Zaller.) September 2012, Perspectives on Politics

"Political Parties in Rough Weather." (with Marty Cohen, Hans Noel and John Zaller.) January 2008, The Forum

"The Electoral Cost of War: Iraq Casualties and the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election." (with Edward Miguel) August 2007, The Journal of Politics

"Does Constituency Size Affect Elected Officials' Trade Policy Preferences?" (May 2007, Journal of Politics)

"Has Polling Enhanced Representation? Unearthing Evidence from the Literary Digest Issue Polls"(Spring 2007, Studies in American Political Development.)

"Pols or Polls? The Real Driving Force behind Presidential Nominations" (with Marty Cohen, Hans Noel, and John Zaller), Brookings Review 2003

"Divided Government and U.S. Trade Policy: Much Ado about Nothing?" International Organization Fall 2000