Boris Heersink

BA, University of Amsterdam, History
MA, University of Amsterdam, History
MA, The New School for Social Research, Political Science
PhD, University of Virginia, Political Science

My research focuses on American political institutions - most notably political parties - and measuring the effects of campaigns on election results. Much of my scholarship relies on historical case studies or arguments about historical development. My research has appeared in - among others - The Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, Studies in American Political Development, and American Politics Research. I am currently working on two book projects: National Party Organizations and Party Brands in American Politics - focusing on the role of the DNC and RNC in the American political process - and Republican Party Politics in the American South, 1865-1968 (with Jeffery A. Jenkins, under contract at Cambridge University Press) - which assesses internal Republican party politics in the American South at the local and national levels in an era in which the party was largely not competitive in the region.

POSC 1100 - Introduction to Politics
POSC 3214 - The US Congress
POSC 3215 - American Political Parties
POSC 3301 - Campaigns and Elections
POSC 5130 - Political Institutions and Processes

"Trump and the Party-In-Organization: Presidential Control of National Party Organizations," The Journal of Politics vol. 80, no. 4 (October 2018) 1474-1482.

"Party Brands and the Democratic and Republican National Committees, 1952-1976," Studies in American Political Development, vol. 32, no. 1 (2018) 79-102.

"Truman Defeats Dewey: The Effect of Campaign Visits in Election Outcomes," Electoral Studies vol. 49 (October 2017) 49-64 (with Brenton D. Peterson).

"Disasters and Elections: Estimating the Net Effect of Damage and Relief in Historical Perspective," Political Analysis vol. 25, no. 2 (2017) 260-268 (with Brenton D. Peterson and Jeffery A. Jenkins).

"Measuring the Vice-Presidential Home State Advantage with Synthetic Controls," American Politics Research vol. 44, no. 4 (July, 2016) 734-763 (with Brenton D. Peterson).

"Southern Delegates and Republican National Convention Politics," Studies in American Political Development vol. 29, no. 1 (April, 2015) 68-88 (with Jeffery A. Jenkins).