SFU experts on U.S. politics and the battle for the Senate

Protests are underway at the U.S Capitol in Washington as tensions rise among Trump supporters during the certification of Joe Biden’s election win. With one of two senate seats secured and the democrats on pace to win both seats, the final voting count is also continuing in the Georgia senate race.

SFU political science professor Andy Hira says the race will have resonance in American history for decades to come, providing the Biden administration “the possibility to transcend the deadlock that has beguiled Washington for over a decade, and to begin to provide the concrete results that will erode populism and factionalism. It more importantly creates a singular importance for the moderate wings of the Democratic and Republican parties, who now hold the ability to pass legislation, as reflected in the recent stimulus compromise.”

Hira is included among the following SFU experts available to comment on U.S. politics leading up to the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden. He can speak to the events in the U.S. leading up to the January 20th inauguration, including this week’s Georgia senate race.

Politics:

Andy Hira, professor, political science, ahira@sfu.ca
Topics: rise of populist leaders such as President Donald Trump, impact of social movements, how the 2020 election marks an historic turning point towards systemic reform

Robert Adamson, lecturer, Beedie School of Business, 604.657.1213; radamson@sfu.ca, adamson.robert@me.com
Topics: legal issues surrounding the transition to President-Elect Biden, constitutional law issues, potential impact of U.S. Supreme Court on government policies, election law

Samir Gandesha, associate professor, humanities, 604.726.6704; samir_gandesha@sfu.ca
Topics: authoritarianism/fascism/populism, crisis of liberal-democracy, identity politics, “cancel culture”, free speech, racial politics

Aaron Hoffman, assistant professor, political science, aaron_hoffma@sfu.ca
Topics: U.S. foreign policy and the recent election

Crime:

Neil Boyd, professor, criminology, 778.782.3324; nboyd@sfu.ca
Topic: crime and media, homicide, rates of crime in the U.S.

Communication:

Sun-Ha Hong, professor, communication, 215.605.3493; sun_ha@sfu.ca
Topics: mis/disinformation, conspiracy theories, deepfakes/cheapfakes, role of social media/online communication

Jaime Lee Kirtz, communication, postdoctoral fellow, Digital Democracies Institute, 303-638-8661; Jaime_kirtz@sfu.ca
Topics: hate speech, platform policy standards, FCC, congress and governance of media, American civil religion and nationalism

CONTACT

MATT KIELTYKA, SFU Communications & Marketing
236.880.2187 | matt_kieltyka@sfu.ca