George E. Marcus

George E. Marcus

Professor of Political Science, Emeritus

At Williams since 1967

Areas of Expertise

Democratic theory, public opinion, electoral behavior in democratic societies, political psychology with special interest on the role of emotions in politics, philosophies of science and methodology, as well as political tolerance, appraisal of candidates, dynamics of electoral campaigns in the United States and in the European Union, as well as other aspects of political psychology.

Scholarship/Creative Work

Selected
    • John L. Sulllivan, James Piereson, and George E. Marcus, Political Tolerance and American Democracy, 1982, Chicago University Press. Selected as the 2006 Philip A. Converse Outstanding Book by the Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior Section of APSA.
    •  George E. Marcus, John L. Sullivan, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, and Sandra Wood, With Malice Toward Some: How People Make Civil Liberties Judgments, 1995. Cambridge University Press. Selected as the best book published in 1995 in the field of political psychology by the Political Psychology Section of the American Political Science Association.
    • George E. Marcus, W. Russell Neuman, and Michael MacKuen, Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment. 2000. University of Chicago Press.
    • George E. Marcus, The Sentimental Citizen: Emotion in Democratic Politics. 2002, Penn State University Press. French language edition published in 2007.
    • George E. Marcus. “The Enduring Dilemma of Political Tolerance in American Political History.” Chapter in The State of Democracy in America, William Crotty (Ed.), 2001, Georgetown University Press.
    • George E. Marcus, “Emotions in Politics,” chapter in Annual Review of Political Science, Nelson Polsby (Ed.), 2000, Annual Reviews.
    • George E. Marcus, “The Psychology of Emotion and Politics,” chapter in Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology, Leonie Huddy, David Sears, and Robert Jervis (Eds.), 2003, Oxford University Press.
    • W. Russell Neuman, George E. Marcus, Ann Crigler, & Michael MacKuen, The Affect Effect: Dynamics of Emotion in Political Thinking and Behavior, 2007, University of Chicago Press.
    • Michael B. MacKuen, Jennifer Wolak, Luke Keele, and George E. Marcus, 2010, “Civic Engagements: Resolute Partisanship or Reflective Deliberation,” American Journal of Political Science.
    • Ted Brader, George E. Marcus, and Kristyn L. Miller, 2011,“Emotion and Public Opinion.” Chapter in Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and Media, Larry Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro (Eds.), Oxford University Press.
    • George E. Marcus. “Reason, Passion, and Democratic Politics: Old Conceptions – New Understandings – New Possibilities.” In Nomos LIII: Passions and Emotions, ed. James E. Fleming. 2012. New York: New York University Press.
    • George E. Marcus, Political Psychology: Neuroscience, Genetics and Politics. 2012. New York: Oxford University Press.
    • Ted Brader and George E. Marcus, “Emotion and Political Psychology.” 2013. Chapter in Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology, 2nd Edition. David Sears, Leonie Huddy, and Jack Levy (Eds.). Oxford University Press.
    • Stanley Feldman, Leonie Huddy, and George E. Marcus, Going to War in Iraq: When People and the Press Matter. 2015. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
    • Neuman, W. R., Marcus, G. E., & MacKuen, M. B. (2018). Hardwired for News: Affective Intelligence and Political Attention. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 62(4), 614-635.
    • Marcus, G. E., Neuman, W. R., & MacKuen, Michael B. (2017). Measuring Emotional Response: Comparing Alternative Approaches to Measurement. Political Science Research and Methods, 5(4), 733-754.
    • Vasilopoulos, P., & Marcus, G. E. (2017). Deux voies vers la droite: Enjeux, émotions et vote FN. In O. Fillieule, F. Haegel, C. Hamidi, & V. Tiberj (Eds.), Sociologie plurielle des comportements politiques (pp. 287-319). Paris: SciencesPo Les Presses.
    • Vasilopoulos, P., Marcus, G. E., & Foucault, M. (2018). Emotional Responses to the Charlie Hebdo Attacks: Addressing the Authoritarianism Puzzle. Political Psychology, 39(3), 557-575.
    • Vasilopoulos, P., Marcus, G. E., Valentino, N. A., & Foucault, M. (2019). Fear, Anger, and Voting for the Far right: Evidence from the November 13, 2015 Paris Terror Attacks. Political Psychology, 40(4),  679-696.
    • Marcus, G. E., Valentino, N. A., Vasilopoulos, P., & Foucault, M. (2019). Applying the Theory of Affective Intelligence to Support for Authoritarian Policies and Parties. Advances in Political Psychology, 40(S1), 109-139. The most downloaded paper from the journal Political Psychology, 2018-2019.
    • George E. Marcus, “How Fear and Anger Impact Democracy.” Democracy Papers, (2019). https://items.ssrc.org/how-fear-and-anger-impact-democracy/
    • Marcus, G. E. (2021). The Rise of Populism: The politics of justice, anger, and grievance. In J. Forgas, B. Crano, & K. Fiedler (Eds.), The Psychology of Populism (pp. 81-104). Routledge.
    • Marcus, G. E. (2022). Hidden Affections: Presumptions that Continue to Misshape The Measurement of Emotion. Advances in Politics and Economics, 5(1), 73-98.

Awards, Fellowships & Grants

Various grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Carnegie, Ford, Sloan, and Rockefeller Foundations (among others).

Best Book in Political Psychology, 1995. Award for With Malice Toward Some: How People Make Civil Liberties Judgments (New York: Cambridge University Press). Awarded by the Political Psychology Section of the American Political Science Association.

Best Book in the field published at least five years prior for Political Tolerance and American Democracy (1982, University of Chicago Press). Awarded in September 2006 by the Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior”  APSA Organized Section.

Awarded the 2019 Harold D. Lasswell Award from the International Society of Political Psychology. The Lasswell Award is given annually for “distinguished scientific contribution in the field of political psychology.”

 

 

Professional Affiliations

Selected:

American Political Science Association

Midwest Political Science Association

International Society of Political Psychology

Professional Experience (selected)

  • Post-doctoral Fellow, Yale Program in Psychology and Politics (1970-71);
  • Co-Founder and Co-editor, Political Methodology (1974-1985);
  • Director of the Public Opinion Program for Journalists (1984 – 1989);
  • Editorial Board, Political Analysis (1988 – 1990);
  • Executive Director of the International Society of Political Psychology (1992 – 1996); Vice President (2000-2004); President (2005-2006); Councillor (2010-2015)
  • 1995 National Election Studies Pilot Planning Committee;
  • Board of Directors, The Roper Center (1980 – 2008); Vice-chair of the Board (1999-2005); Chairman of the Board (2006-2008)
  • Residency, Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy, 1999.
  • Editorial Board, Political Psychology (1997 – current);
  • Governing Council, American Political Science Association (1999-2000);
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Politics (2005-2007);
  • Board Member, Advisory Board of the European Summer Institute of Political Psychology (2001 – 2003);
  • National Science Foundation, Political Science Division Panel (2007-2008)