M. Stephen Weatherford

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  M. Stephen Weatherford is a professor of Political Science at University of California, Santa Barbara. His areas of emphasis include American Politics, Political Economy, Politics of Public Policy, Representation, Public Opinion and Elections. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1976.

  Weatherford’s research has ranged over questions of representation, political behavior and political economy, mainly in the context of U.S. politics. His research has focused on decision-making, political leadership, and policy deliberation, and has been supported by NSF and private foundations. His studies of public opinion have investigated how voters learn about national economic conditions and translate that information into political choices and actions; how local activists, parents and the wider citizenry mobilized to oppose (or support) school desegregation; and how declining public trust in political institutions and politicians conditions the government’s ability to respond to problems.

  His studies of political leadership have focused on economic policy, comparing how post-war presidents have combined economic ideas with political goals to set a course for the national economy, and how they have drawn on research and policy ideas in seeking to persuade Congress and the public to support them. Both of these lines of research have revolved around the role of ideas (including research evidence as well as models or theories) and the networks of interpersonal communication and influence. Weatherford’s recent research has tracked the formation and performance of citizen deliberative forums, particularly in school politics at the local and state level.