Call for Papers
The Biden Presidency - An Assessment
Annual Meeting of the Political Science Section of the German Association for American Studies
Atlantische Akademie Rheinland-Pfalz e.V. – Political Science Department, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
Date:
May 22-24, 2025
Location:
Senatssaal, Fürstengraben 1, 07743 Jena
The Biden Administration came to a dramatic and unexpected turn with the events of the summer as well as the election of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President last November. It is a longstanding tradition of the Political Science Section of the DGfA/GAAS to evaluate a President’s term by examining the politics, policy, and polity during his administration. Joe Biden’s presidency, marked by significant challenges in both domestic and international policy, certainly merits the continuation of this tradition.
Therefore, we encourage and welcome submissions from all areas of political science research (domestic, foreign, political system, political theory, etc.) or related disciplines with both long-term and short-term perspectives on the Biden-Harris administration.
Papers could include questions such as:
- How did the topic of unity shape the Biden administration throughout his presidency?
- In what ways did the Biden administration address issues of social (in)justice, gender equality, and minority rights, and how should these issues be approached by future administrations?
- Did the January 6th insurrection influence policy reforms aimed at safeguarding American democracy and its institutions from future attacks?
- How did the Biden administration shape international relations, especially in comparison to its predecessors?
- What strategies did the Biden administration use to pass legislation, and what were its key successes and failures in delivering on campaign promises?
- Is there a need for a fundamental overhaul of the American political system and its institutions and if so, what could such reforms entail?
- What role did the Democratic party play especially in the last months of the Biden Presidency and his decision to withdraw from the presidential race?
- Did the presidency lose power during the Biden presidency, with other branches of government gaining influence, and what challenges could this pose for the future?
Please submit your abstract (up to 250 words) to the organizers (tim.haas(at)uni-jena.de) by March 1st, 2025.
