James Lengle

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Fulbright ANU Distinguished Chair

Media profile

“Regardless of which political party wins in November 2008, we can expect dramatic changes in both personnel and policy in the United States.”

James Lengle, an Associate Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, is the 2008-09 Fulbright Australian National University Distinguished Chair in American Political Science. The Scholarship, established by the Australian National University (ANU) and the Fulbright Commission in 2005, aims to build collaborative research and focus on the study of the United States in Australia.

James, a noted U.S. political commentator, will join the ANU in Canberra for five months, from August to December 2008. Consequently, he will be in residence from the start of the 2008 general election campaign for President until after the final analyses on the election are filed and the transition from the old administration to the new one begins.

James’ research will focus on the effects of economic conditions on U.S. presidential elections.

“My time in Australia would capitalise on the American elections in a number of ways. First, my research proposal focuses on U.S. presidential elections by examining the relationship between economic conditions and presidential election outcomes. Conventional wisdom among politicians, reporters, and political analysts suggests that the state of the economy plays a major role in determining who wins the White House.”

“When economic conditions are good or improving, the incumbent president or party in power (if the incumbent president is not seeking re-election) should benefit. If economic conditions are bad or deteriorating, then the prospects of the party out of power should improve significantly,” explains James.

James plans to divide economic variables into two-types: macro-level, which capture the state of the national economy, and micro-level, which capture the economic standing of individuals within the economy. In his research he also plans to divide voters’ decisions into two types: retrospective voting, where votes are based on past performance, and prospective voting, where votes are based on future expectations.”

James lists his top professional accomplishments as being President of the National Capitol Area Political Science Association (1989-1990); winning the Jack Walker Award (1997) presented by the Political Parties Section of the American Political Science Association; and being Georgetown University’s first recipient of the Executive Vice-President’s ‘Excellence in Teaching Award.”