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Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy

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Eric M. Patashnik

Director, Taubman Center for American Politics & Policy, Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
eric_patashnik@brown.edu
Department Political Science, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

Biography

Eric M. Patashnik is the Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for American Politics & Policy and the Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science.

Patashnik is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Before coming to Brown, Patashnik held faculty positions at the University of Virginia, UCLA, and Yale University. Patashnik is the author and editor of several books, including "Countermobilization: Policy Feedback and Backlash in a Polarized Age" (University of Chicago Press, 2023), "Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine" (with Alan Gerber and Conor Dowling, Princeton University Press, 2017), "Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted" (Princeton University Press, 2008) and "Putting Trust in the US Budget: Federal Trust Funds and the Politics of Commitment" (Cambridge University Press, 2000).

Patashnik has twice won the Louis Brownlow Book Award of the National Academy of Public Administration and the Don K. Price Book Award of the American Political Science Association. He was a Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution during 1995-96, served as president of the Public Policy Section of the American Political Science Association during 2017-18, and was the editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law during 2016-2019.

He has held various administrative positions, including chair of the political science department and director of the MPA program at Brown and associate dean and acting dean at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He will be a research fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation in spring 2025.

Patashnik received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Recent News

Vox

"Can executive actions save Democrats in the midterms?" (Commentary by Eric Patashnik)

April 3, 2022
Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy and Chair of Political Science Eric Patashnik in Vox, "It’s possible this could have some influence on vote choices in the midterms, but the impact will be at the margin.”
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Niskanen Center

"Can Democrats Design Social Programs that Survive?" (Interview with Eric Patashnik)

October 20, 2021
Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy and Chair of Political Science, Eric Patashnik, appeared in this podcast to discuss his work on the politics of programs survivability after reforms passed Congress.
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Vox

"Is a supersized agenda the key to Democrats’ 2022 success — or their demise?" (Commentary by Eric Patashnik)

February 18, 2021
Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science Eric Patashnik provided commentary in this article on several features that appear to make certain policies more likely to produce backlash.
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The Washington Post

"McConnell wants the impeachment trial to be about Congress’s authority — not about loyalty to Trump" (co-written by Eric Patashnik)

January 25, 2021
Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy Eric Patashnik co-wrote this piece on how McConnell may justify GOP votes to convict Trump without appearing to betray the party.
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Spectrum

"Data-Free Medicine" (interview with Eric Patashnik)

December 23, 2020
Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy, Eric Patashnik, appeared on this podcast episode to discuss the new paperback edition of his coauthored book, Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine.
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Washington Monthly

"Repeal-Proofing the Biden Administration" (Written by Eric Patashnik)

August 31, 2020
Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science, Eric Patashnik wrote this article discussing Biden's political agenda, "as Democrats design their policy agenda, they must think about not just how to get new laws passed, but how to make them durable."
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Eric M. Patashnik