Theda Skocpol
Founder and Director, Scholars Strategy Network Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University
Chapter Member: Boston SSN
Areas of Expertise:
Connect with Theda
About Theda
Theda Skocpol is SSN’s Director. She is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University; where she has also served as Dean of the Graduate School and as Director of the Center for American Political Studies. Skocpol is an internationally recognized scholar and has been elected to membership in all three of America’s scholarly honor societies: the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the American Philosophical Society; and the National Academy of Sciences.
Skocpol’s work covers a broad spectrum of topics and her books and articles have been widely cited in political science literature and have won numerous awards. Over the last two decades; her research has primarily focused on health care reform; public policy; and civic engagement amidst the shifting inequalities in American democracy. Among the many books she has authored or co-authored are Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life; Health Care Reform and American Politics; and The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism. Skocpol speaks regularly to community groups and writes for blogs and public-interest magazines.
Contributions
Conservative and Progressive Trans-State Policy Networks
Basic Facts Brief,
Making Sense of the Koch Network
Basic Facts Brief,
The GOP Civil War over Medicaid Expansion in the States
Key Findings Brief,
Debunking Myths about Medicaid - And Its Expansion
Basic Facts Brief,
The Best Way to See That Affordable Care is Moving Ahead
Basic Facts Brief,
A Field Guide to the Politics of ObamaCare Implementation
Basic Facts Brief,
Why Now is the Time to Build a Broad Citizen Movement for Green Energy Dividends
Key Findings Brief,
What Americans Really Think about Health Reform
Basic Facts Brief,
What Does Health Reform Do for Americans?
Basic Facts Brief,
The Tea Party Lives On - And Pulls Republicans to the Right
Key Findings Brief,
What the Ryan Budget Means for Missouri Families
Basic Facts Brief,
The Truth about the Individual Mandate in Health Reform
Basic Facts Brief,
The Ryan Budget and Michigan: A Few Win, but Millions Lose
Basic Facts Brief,
The High Stakes for Health Care in Election 2012
Basic Facts Brief,
Social Security is in Good Shape – And Does Not Drive the Deficit
Basic Facts Brief,
Making Sense of the Tea Party
Key Findings Brief,
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
Interviewed in "Pushing Against Jim Crow: The Amazing Worlds of African American Fraternal Orders," Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, April 25, 2023.
Opinion: "Keep It Simple, Democrats. Job One Is Making Sure Americans Can Cast Votes This Fall," Theda Skocpol (with ), USA Today, July 13, 2020.
Quoted by Craig R. McCoy in "The Coronavirus Could Pull Policies Like Universal Health Care from the Edge into the Mainstream," The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2020.
Opinion: "Women Are Rebuilding the Democratic Party From the Ground Up," Theda Skocpol (with ), The New Republic, August 21, 2018.
Interviewed in "The Political Reawakening Of The Middle-Aged Suburban White Woman," Huffington Post, July 19, 2018.
Interviewed in "How Middle-Aged Women May Save American Democracy," Pacific Standard, July 16, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "Supreme Court Ruling on Union Fees Could Shift Healthcare Politics," Modern Healthcare, June 27, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "Here's How Trump's Opponents Can Ride a 'Blue Wave' to Victory in the November Elections ," Market Watch, June 6, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "I’m Ready for the Female Takeover of the Democratic Party," The Daily Beast, May 18, 2018.
Quoted by Francis Wilkinson in "Democrats' 'Civil War' is More Civil than War," Bloomberg View, April 17, 2018.
Quoted by Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins in "Why There is No ‘Liberal Tea Party’," The New York Times, April 17, 2018.
Quoted by Eric Levitz in "Trump Has Turned Millions of Americans into Activists," New York Magazine, April 6, 2018.
Quoted by Dan Sisken in "Change is Coming: Grassroots Organizing, Democratic Politics and the 2018 Elections," Nation of Change, April 4, 2018.
Quoted by Neal Milner in "There's Change Afoot In America And We Don't See It Coming," Honolulu Civil Beat, March 8, 2018.
Quoted by Helaine Olen in "American Women Raised Their Voices This Week. Loudly," The Washington Post, March 7, 2018.
Quoted by Jonathan Malesic in "Please, Millennials, Don’t Destroy Us Just Yet," The New Republic, March 7, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "Theda Skocpol’s New Work on Anti-Trump Activists," The Economist, February 28, 2018.
Quoted by David Leonhardt in "The Left is Energized. Now It Needs to Vote.," New York Times, February 25, 2018.
Quoted by Heather Digby Parton in "If Democracy Makes a Comeback, White Suburban Women Will Lead It," Salon TV, February 23, 2018.
Opinion: "Middle America Reboots Democracy," Theda Skocpol (with ), Democracy Journal, February 20, 2018.
Quoted by Rand Richards Cooper in "Sound Familiar? Trump & Nationalism, Here & Abroad," Commonweal, February 12, 2018.
Quoted by Masoud Kazemzadeh in "Five Possible Outcomes Following the Mass Protests in Iran," Radio Farda, February 6, 2018.
Quoted by Luis Fleischmann in "Trump, US Need Committed Foreign Policy Team on Iran," Newsmax, January 9, 2018.
Quoted by Lucile Scott in "A Polarized Country is Worse for Democrats than Republicans," Vice, November 15, 2017.
Research discussed by , in "Year One: Resistance Research," The New York Review of Books, November 9, 2017.
Quoted by Max de Haldevang in "The American Left Has Its Own Tea Party, and It’s Coming for Donald Trump," Quartz, September 16, 2017.
Quoted by Igor Bobic in "Trump Erodes Moral Authority of the Presidency in Wake of Charlottesville," Huffington Post, August 16, 2017.
Opinion: "What Can (or Should) Activists Learn from the Tea Party?," Theda Skocpol (with ), The Washington Post, May 11, 2017.
Research discussed by , in "No, Donald Trump's Triumph is Not a Setback for the Koch Brothers," Minnesota Post, April 7, 2017.
Quoted by Clare Malone in "The Left Might Have a Hard Time Replicating the Tea Party’s Success," FiveThirtyEight, March 13, 2017.
Quoted by Dana Milbank in "Here’s How You Can Deal with Trump — besides Drinking Everclear," The Washington Post, February 10, 2017.
Quoted by Allegra Kirkland in "How the Obamacare Town Hall Script Totally Flipped This Week," Talking Points Memo, January 19, 2017.
Opinion: "A Guide to Rebuilding the Democratic Party, from the Ground Up," Theda Skocpol, Vox, January 5, 2017.
Opinion: "Trump is Going After Health Care. Will Democrats Push Back?," Theda Skocpol, New York Times, December 21, 2016.
Opinion: "Behind "Make America Great," the Koch Agenda Returns with a Vengeance," Theda Skocpol (with ), Talking Points Memo, November 21, 2016.
Quoted by Bert Gambini in "Acclaimed Scholar Sees Lasting Impact of a Trump Presidency," UBNow, November 18, 2016.
Quoted by David Scharfenberg in "Pundits, Politicians Failed to Detect Depth of Trump’s Support," Boston Globe, November 10, 2016.
Quoted by Michael Tomasky, Jack Meserve, and Sophia Crabbe-Field in "How to Debate Trump," Democracy Journal, September 23, 2016.
Quoted by Tierney Seed in "Will Delegitimizing a Clinton Presidency Outlast Trump's Campaign?," Talking Points Memo, August 9, 2016.
Opinion: "Democrats are Losing to Republicans at the State Level, and Badly. Here's Why.," Theda Skocpol (with ), Vox, August 3, 2016.
Opinion: "Trump and Trumpism Could Win in November, Unless the Rest of Us Set Aside Our Differences," Theda Skocpol, Bangor Daily News, August 2, 2016.
Quoted by Daniel W. Drezner in "The Tricky Thing about Studying the Politics of Philanthropy," Washington Post , July 26, 2016.
Guest on Colorado Public Radio, June 22, 2016.
Research discussed by , in "Inside the Donor Network: Studies Unravel the Towering Influence Money Has over Politics - on the Right and Left," Salon, June 18, 2016.
Quoted by in "The Split: 19 Reasons the Democrats Will Remain Divided - and What It Means for the Party's Future," The New Republic, June 14, 2016.
Opinion: "Why Hillary Clinton is the Strongest Equality Candidate," Theda Skocpol, Huffington Post, May 26, 2016.
Quoted by Lee Drutman in "The Kochs are Retreating from National Elections. Here's What We Should Learn.," Vox, May 16, 2016.
Quoted by Francis Wilkinson in "The GOP is Failing. Democracy Can, Too.," Bloomberg View, May 5, 2016.
Research discussed by , in "After Trump: How Authoritarian Voters Will Change American Politics," Vox, April 28, 2016.
Quoted by Jeff Stein in "How Conservative Megadonors Built a Shadow GOP That Weakened the Official Party," Vox, April 14, 2016.
Opinion: "Five Myths about the Koch Brothers - and Why It Matters to Set Them Straight," Theda Skocpol (with ), Bill Moyers, March 10, 2016.
Interviewed in "Trump Will Win or Lose. Either Way, the Koch Network Will Still Shape the Republican Party.," (with ) The Washington Post, February 29, 2016.
Quoted by Sean McElwee in "Moneyed Interests are Blocking U.S. Action on Climate Change," Al Jazeera America, February 8, 2016.
Quoted by Christina Pazzanese in "The Costs of Inequality: Increasingly, It’s the Rich and the Rest," Harvard Gazette, February 8, 2016.
Opinion: "Billionaire Ideologues, Unruly Voters, and the Future of the Republican Party," Theda Skocpol, Dissent Magazine, February 3, 2016.
Opinion: "Legal Hurdles to the Affordable Care Act," Theda Skocpol (with ), Oxford University Press Blog, January 17, 2016.
Research discussed by , in "The Republican Party’s 50-State Solution," New York Times, January 13, 2016.
Quoted by Lydia DePillis in "Meet the Lefty Club behind a Blitz of New Laws in Cities around the Country," The Washington Post, January 4, 2016.
Research discussed by , in "The Scary Lessons of Matt Bevin: What We Can Learn about American Politics from the Right Wing’s Destructive Anti-Medicaid Crusade," Salon, November 7, 2015.
Quoted by Michael Knigge in "Why Paul Ryan is Unlikely to Unite the Republican Party," Deutsche Welle, October 23, 2015.
Guest on NPR: Koch Political Network Expanding 'Grassroots' Organizing, October 12, 2015.
Quoted by John B. Judis in "The Return of the Middle American Radical," National Journal, October 2, 2015.
Opinion: "How the Right Trounced Liberals in the States," Theda Skocpol (with ), Democracy Journal, Fall 2015.
Quoted by Paul Basken in "Embrace of Deception in Experiments Puts Social Scientists in an Ethical Bind," Chronicle of Higher Education, September 14, 2015.
Opinion: "Will Maine Share in Health Reform’s Success or Follow Old Confederacy?," Theda Skocpol, Bangor Daily News, July 21, 2015.
Quoted by Sean McElwee in "The Economic Plan That Could Save America (but Scares Conservative Billionaires Senseless)," Salon, June 29, 2015.
Quoted by Dylan Matthews in "Barack Obama is Officially One of the Most Consequential Presidents in American History," Vox, June 26, 2015.
Opinion: "A Turning Point for Health Care — and Its G.O.P. Opponents," Theda Skocpol (with ), New York Times, June 25, 2015.
Quoted by Eryn Brown in "Do a State's Politics Influence Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Yes, Study Says," Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2015.
Research discussed by , in "Why the GOP Loses if the ObamaCare Lawsuit Wins," The Washington Post, June 1, 2015.
Quoted by Lisa Riley Roche in "Tea Party Movement Still Strong, Harvard Professor Tells U. Students," Deseret News, March 26, 2015.
Quoted by Rick Cohen in "Theda Skocpol on the Self-Imposed ACA Quandary of Republican Governors," Nonprofit Quarterly, February 23, 2015.
Quoted by Sahil Kapur in "SCOTUS Ruling against Obamacare Threatens GOP in 2016 Swing States," Talking Points Memo, January 20, 2015.
Interviewed in "Analysis: CBO Contradicted the Latest Case against ObamaCare 68 Different Times," Vox, January 16, 2015.
Research discussed by , in "CBO Undercut the SCOTUS Case against O-Care 68 Times," Talking Points Memo, January 16, 2015.
Research discussed by , in "No, Congress Never Intended to Limit Obamacare Subsidies to State Exchanges," Mother Jones, January 16, 2015.
Opinion: "53 Historians Weigh in on Obama's Legacy," Theda Skocpol, New York Magazine, January 11, 2015.
Quoted by Ned Resnikoff in "House Republican Skirmish over Top Spot Could Expose Party Fissures," Al Jazeera America, January 5, 2015.
Opinion: "'Grubergate' Shows the Sad State of Debate on ObamaCare," Theda Skocpol, Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2014.
Quoted by Daniel Strauss in "The Benghazi Report Truthers: Even the GOP Can't Get to the Bottom of It," Talking Points Memo, December 3, 2014.
Quoted by Elias Isquith in "Tom Coburn’s Lunacy and the Real Meaning of the Immigration Fight," Salon, November 20, 2014.
Quoted by Michael Tomasky in "Will GOP Govs Really Rescue Obamacare?," The Daily Beast, November 12, 2014.
Interviewed in "Tea Party’s “Intensified War”: Why the GOP’s Happy Time is about to End," Salon, October 28, 2014.
Opinion: "Both Parties are Keeping Americans in the Dark about Healthcare Reform," Theda Skocpol (with ), The Hill, October 13, 2014.
Quoted by Jon Greenberg in "George Will: America Hasn't Had Sustained Confidence in Government since Ronald Reagan," PunditFact, October 5, 2014.
Quoted by Rebecca Traister and Judith Shulevitz in "Feminism Has Conquered the Culture. Now Comes the Hard Part.," New Republic, September 14, 2014.
Opinion: "The Unfortunate Turn against Performance Politics in US.. Elections," Theda Skocpol (with ), The Hill, September 5, 2014.
Quoted by in "Juan Williams: People Who Want Impeachment are White, Old and Republican," PunditFact, August 3, 2014.
Opinion: "Where Pragmatism about Health Reform Lives," Theda Skocpol (with ), The Hill, July 8, 2014.
Opinion: "ObamaCare is Working. Why Isn’t Maine Taking Full Advantage of It?," Theda Skocpol, Bangor Daily News, July 4, 2014.
Quoted by Allison Kopicki in "Support is Thin for Tea Party, but It Retains Its Muscle," New York Times, June 24, 2014.
Quoted by Jack Stripling in "Higher Ed, the Tea Party’s Unlikely Farm Team," Chronicle of Higher Education, June 12, 2014.
Opinion: "How Strong is the Tea Party? They've Won by Leverage, Not Popularity," Theda Skocpol, New York Times, May 18, 2014.
Research discussed by , in "Fox News' Divisive Race Strategy: How O'Reilly, Hannity and Coulter Intentionally Tore America Apart," Salon, May 17, 2014.
Opinion: "Republicans Need to Suck It Up and Learn to Love ObamaCare," Theda Skocpol, Talking Points Memo, April 4, 2014.
Quoted by Matt Bai in "What Really Matters on Health Care: Making It Work," Yahoo News, March 27, 2014.
Quoted by in "Outside Groups Hail Fired GOPer as 'Conservative Fireball' under Ted Cruz," Talking Points Memo, January 14, 2014.
Research discussed by , in "States Edge Closer to Medicaid Expansion: Who'll Go First?," The Daily Beast, January 8, 2014.
Research discussed by , in "The Price of GOP ObamaCare Sabotage in One Chart," Talking Points Memo, January 6, 2014.
Opinion: "The Christmas Story, as Told by the Affordable Care Act," Theda Skocpol, Talking Points Memo, December 24, 2013.
Guest on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show", October 23, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Republicans Lose Budget Battle, but U.S. Fiscal War May Continue," Deutsche Welle, October 17, 2013.
Interviewed in "Tea Partyers' Grave Fear: Why They Disdain Young People - Even Their Own!," Salon, October 17, 2013.
Interviewed in "The Left Thinks Business Controls the Republican Party. They're Wrong.," Washington Post, October 8, 2013.
Opinion: "What Does Health Reform Do for Americans?," Theda Skocpol (with ), OUPblog, September 23, 2013.
Opinion: "Could 'ObamaCare' be Accepted in Oklahoma by Another Name?," Theda Skocpol, Tulsa World, August 7, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Americans and Australians on Carbon-Control Politics," PolitiFact, July 30, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Obama Channels His Inner Al Gore in Climate Change Messaging Shift," The Hill, July 6, 2013.
Opinion: "On Social Security, Tap the Wealthy to Support a Program for All," Theda Skocpol, New York Times, April 17, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Controversial Study Probes Reasons for Climate Bill Failure," Environmental Building News, February 7, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Harvard Professor Has It Right: U.S. Climate Push Requires Intense Grassroots Support around 'Cap-and-Dividend' Bill," Grist, February 1, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "U.S. Environmentalists Challenged to Get Climate Change Laws through Congress," The Guardian, January 17, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Why Has Climate Legislation Failed? An Interview with Theda Skocpol," The Washington Post, January 16, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Why the Environmental Movement Couldn't Get Cap-and-Trade Passed," Grist, January 14, 2013.
Research discussed by , in "Beyond Baby Steps: Analyzing the Cap-and-Trade Flop," Grist, January 14, 2013.
Opinion: "Bringing Academics into the Grassroots Game," Theda Skocpol, The American Prospect, December 14, 2012.
Research discussed by , in "The Republican Party: Desperately Seeking Voters," DW, November 20, 2012.
Research discussed by , in "Who Gets Credit for the Economy's Recovery?," New York Times, October 26, 2012.
Opinion: "Majority of New Mexico Better Off under ObamaCare," Theda Skocpol (with ), The Albuquerque Journal, September 24, 2012.
Opinion: "Paul Ryan's Budget Plan Could Hurt Many Missourians," Theda Skocpol (with ), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 18, 2012.
Research discussed by , in "Obama Makes His Case amidst Reagan's Shadow," Reuters, September 6, 2012.
Interviewed in "Why the Tea Party Still Matters: Theda Skocpol’s ‘Obama and America’s Political Future’," The Daily Beast, August 29, 2012.
Opinion: "Affordable Care Lives: A Benefit and Challenge for Maine," Theda Skocpol, Bangor Daily News, June 29, 2012.
Opinion: "Bending Toward Universal Health Care," Theda Skocpol (with ), New York Times, June 28, 2012.
Opinion: "Getting Past Healthcare's Individual Mandate," Theda Skocpol (with ), Los Angeles Times, June 20, 2012.
Interviewed in "Interview for Juncture, an online journal of the Institute for Public Policy Research (UK)," Juncture, May 22, 2012.
Opinion: "Mitt Romney, the Stealth Tea Party Candidate," Theda Skocpol, The Washington Post, February 3, 2012.
Opinion: "Can Republicans Rescind Obamacare?," Theda Skocpol (with ), Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2010.
Research discussed by , in "Climate of Change: What Does an Inside-Outside Strategy Mean?," Dissent, Summer 2013.
Regular contributions by Theda Skocpol to the Arena on Politico.com.
Publications
"Institutional Capacities, Partisan Divisions, and Federal Tensions in U.S. Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic" (with ). RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 8, no. 8 (2022): 154-180.
Documents COVID-era policy decisions at the state level. Demonstrates that the extent to which state officials supported Trump's approach to the pandemic is correlated with the timing and type of COVID policies implemented.
"How the Right Trounced the Liberals in the States" (with ). Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, no. 39 (2016).
Discusses the work and organizational innovations on the Right, the sputtering liberal efforts to counter the American Legislative Exchange Council, the success of Center-Left research networks. Discusses the shortcomings of the Left and what can be learned from the Right.
"Business Associations, Conservative Networks, and the Ongoing Republican War over Medicaid Expansion" (with ). Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 41, no. 2 (2016): 239-296.
Finds that partisan differences between Democrats and Republicans are central, but goes beyond earlier analyses to measure added effects from two dueling factions within the Republican coalition: statewide business associations and cross-state networks of ideologically conservative organizations. Shows that GOP-leaning or GOP-dominated states have been most likely to embrace the expansion when organized business support outweighs pressures from conservative networks. Helps make sense of ongoing state-level debates over a core part of health reform and sheds new light on mounting policy tensions within the Republican party.
"Middle America Reboots Democracy" (with ). Democracy: A Journal of Ideas (2018).
Reports that the political practices of college-educated, middle-aged women are the most changed under Trump. Discusses the revitalization of the local Democratic party and that newly mobilized and interconnected grassroots groups are rebuilding the foundations of U.S. democracy.
"The Koch Network and Republican Party Extremism" (with ). Perspectives on Politics 14, no. 3 (2016).
Draws from research on changes since 2000 in the organizational universes surrounding the Republican and Democratic parties to highlight a major emergent force in U.S. politics: the recently expanded "Koch network" that coordinates big money funders, idea producers, issue advocates, and innovative constituency-building efforts in an ongoing effort to pull the Republican Party and agendas of U.S. politics sharply to the right. Reviews the major components and evolution of the Koch network and explores how it has reshaped American politics and policy agendas, focusing especially on implications for right-tilted partisan polarization and rising economic inequality.
"Asymmetric Interest Group Mobilization and Party Coalitions in U.S. Tax Politics" (with ). Studies in American Political Development (2015).
Identifies the mechanisms that have propelled tax resistance in contemporary U.S. politics, and our analysis contributes to theoretical understandings of the ways in which political parties are influenced by policy feedbacks and by coalitions of policy-driven organized economic interests.
"How the Scholars Strategy Network Helps Academics Gain Public Influence" Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014): 695-703.
Broadcasts the Scholars Strategy Network as an innovative way to engage policymakers and fellow citizens. Discusses the work of the Scholars Strategy Network and the benefits of membership.
"The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism" (with ) (Oxford University Press, 2012).
Shows how grassroots activism, the right-wing media, and elite funders and policy advocates interact to allow the Tea Party to boost the GOP and prod it to the hard right. Includes interviews with grass roots activists and an analysis of the role of the Tea Party in the 2010 and 2012 elections.
"Reaching for a New Deal: Ambitious Governance, Economic Meltdown, and Polarized Politics in Obama’s First Two Years" (with ) (Russell Sage Foundation, 2011).
Offers an overview of the policy successes and failures of the early Obama presidency – and explains why, despite many reform accomplishments, Obama and the Democrats have faced uphill political battles, right-wing obstruction, and popular disillusionment.
"Health Care Reform and American Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know" (with ) (Oxford University Press, 2010).
Traces how the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 and explains why this health reform will benefit the vast majority of Americans. Looks at ongoing political controversies over repeal and implementation.
"Civic Engagement in American Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life " (University of Oklahoma Press, 2003).
Looks at civic voluntarism from the American Revolution through the late twentieth century, showing that Americans once organized membership associations that involved dues-paying members across class lines and linked local groups to state and national politics. After the 1960s, membership associations declined while professionally led organizations proliferated, leaving many ordinary citizens on the outside looking in.
"The Missing Middle: Working Families and the Future of American Social Policy" (Norton, 2000).
Successful social programs in U.S. democracy bridge the needs and values of the middle class and the less privileged. Citizens get support in return for making contributions to the nation. Explains why this formula for popular and effective social programs has fallen apart in recent decades, and considers how it might be revived.