The TCNJ Department of Political Science’s Politics Forum presents analytical and/or empirical research concerning political power, institutions and choices. Students and faculty from diverse departments join to learn and comment on the presenter’s current research projects, which may be in completed or just in beginning phases. Projects that cross disciplinary boundaries are particularly welcome. Contact Dr. Sarah Chartock (chartock@tcnj.edu) with questions or if you are interested in presenting your work.
Click here to see past presentations.
Spring 2026 Presentations
For Earth Week 2026, Politics Forum presents “Forever Chemicals: The Problem, Policy, and Prognosis for PFAS in New Jersey” with Ed Potosnak, Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, on April 23, 2026 at 11:00 am to 12:20 pm in Physics Room 101. Sponsored by the TCNJ School of Science, TCNJ Environmental Sustainability Council, and TCNJ Environmental Studies Program.
Join us for the final Politics Forum of the year to hear from Ed Potosnak, Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. He will talk about the nature of PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in New Jersey, state policies regulating PFAS and the future of PFAS mitigation in our backyard. Potosnak previously served as executive director of the NJ League of Conservation Voters and on the board of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. He also is a former chemistry teacher.
Politics Forum, the International Studies Program, and the Environmental Studies Program are proud to host TCNJ Emeritus Professor Miriam Lowi for a presentation on her new book “Refining the Common Good: Oil, Islam and Politics in Gulf Monarchies” on March 3, 2026 at 3:30 pm in ED 113.
How has Islam as a set of beliefs and practices shaped the allocation of oil revenues in Arab Gulf monarchies? In turn, how has oil wealth impacted the role of Islamic doctrine in politics? “Refining the Common Good” explores the relationship between Islamic norms and the circulation of oil wealth in Gulf monarchies. The study demonstrates how both oil (revenues) and Islam (as doctrine) are manipulated as tools of state power, and how religious norms are refined for the sake of achieving narrow secular interests. Miriam R. Lowi examines different institutionalized practices financed by hydrocarbon revenues and sanctioned, either implicitly or explicitly, by Islam, and uses evidence from Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia to show how these practices are infused with political purpose. The dynamic relationship between oil wealth and Islamic doctrine is exploited to contribute to the management and control of society, and the consolidation of dynastic autocracy.
Politics Forum presents “Using AI to Measure Democracy” with Matthew Wilson, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Political Science, University of South Carolina on March 27, 2026 at 12:30 pm in SSB 223.
How do you turn political reports into publishable data? We use AI and text analysis to convert Freedom House reports into evidence about when and how democracy changes. See how cutting-edge methods can help answer one of today’s biggest political questions—and build your own research skills.
Professor Wilson received his PhD from the Pennsylvania State University in 2015 and joined the USC faculty in 2019. Professor Wilson is interested in explaining the impacts of political institutions and temporal dynamics in non-democratic settings. Some of his ongoing research projects focus on the mechanisms that support legislative strengthening and party institutionalization in autocracies and their relation to conflict and regime change. He is currently a Research Fellow with the Varieties of Democracy Project at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where he has contributed to research on democratization.
Spring 2026 Past presentations
Politics Forum presents “From Monroe Doctrine to “Don-roe” Doctrine: The Precedents, Politics, and Prospects of the US Intervention in Venezuela” on February 6, 2026 at 12:30 pm in ED 115.
Why did the United States intervene in Venezuela, and why at this moment? Dr. Sarah Chartock (Political Science), Dr. Miriam Shakow (), and Dr. Rob McGreevey (History) will examine the recent U.S. military action in Venezuela in historical context, the conditions inside the country leading up to the intervention, and the political dynamics shaping U.S. decision-making.
Fall 2025 Presentations
Celebrate Constitution Day on September 17, 2025 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Social Sciences Building Lawn near Green Hall by handwriting the US Constitution!
Join the TCNJ community to write out the text of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Drop by the SSB Lawn between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm to help handwrite the US Constitution and pick up your free pocket Constitution. The final public artwork will be displayed on campus. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held in SSB Atrium.
Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. The event highlights the importance of civic engagement and the responsibilities we have as citizens.