UC Berkeley Political Science professors David Broockman and Paul Pierson were recognized for their influential research in political science by the journal PS: Political Science & Politics
The rankings, which were mentioned in the paper, “A Global Ranking of Research Productivity of Political Science Departments,” highlighted Broockman for publishing 15 recent articles in top political science journals in the past five years — the most of any scholar worldwide. Pierson was recognized as the third most-cited scholar in the field, showing how his research has helped guide both academic and public debates about economic inequality and democracy.
Broockman earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in political science from UC Berkeley. He was recently awarded a Carnegie Fellowship and serves as the faculty director of the Berkeley Center for American Democracy, which collects data that answers key questions about improving democracy.
“I feel very grateful to all my colleagues at Berkeley and around the country who have supported my work,” Broockman said. “Every one of my publications represents feedback and ideas from at least a dozen people who’ve been generous enough to engage with my work, and hearing about these statistics just deepens my gratitude to them.”
Pierson received a bachelor’s degree in government from Oberlin College along with a master’s and Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. He taught at Harvard for 16 years before coming to Berkeley in 2004. He serves as the director of the Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative, which uses research on politics and the economy to help promote genuine, broad-based and durable prosperity.
“It is very gratifying to know that scholars are reading your work and finding it useful,” Pierson said. “Knowledge comes from a broad, developing conversation among researchers, and it's immensely rewarding to be part of those conversations.”
Broockman’s research explores political polarization and examines how campaigns influence voters, using real-world data to question common assumptions. His work has inspired major shifts across research, practice and public discourse — from transforming how pollsters measure public opinion to how campaigns persuade voters. His research has even caught former President Barack Obama’s attention, who put Broockman’s work on persuasion across party lines on his reading list
“A lot of the biggest breakthroughs in our discipline have come from Berkeley, and I think that’s no accident,” Broockman said. “I think being in a region that’s so focused on innovation and isn’t stuck in the day-to-day news cycles of American politics helps scholars at Berkeley focus on questions that are important to our society. That’s at least what I’ve tried my best to do in my research.”
Pierson’s work examines how political institutions and power shape inequality, transforming how people think about American democracy. He has authored and co-authored numerous influential books and articles, including “Winner-Take-All Politics” (2010) and “Dismantling the Welfare State?” (1994) and, most recently, “Partisan Nation” (co-authored with Berkeley Political Science Professor Eric Schickler). His long-running collaborations with Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker, which examine the consequences of economic inequality for democracy, and the transformation of the Republican Party, continue to draw significant attention from the public and policymakers alike.
“I have tried to work on big topics, like the political impact of economic inequality and the declining health of American democracy,” Pierson said. “I've tried to develop concepts that are applicable in many settings and thus useful to a wide range of social scientists.”
As debates about democracy, political polarization and inequality continue to deepen, the work of Broockman and Pierson remains central to understanding a rapidly changing political landscape.