COPA and CISSM
The
Program on International Policy Attitudes is a joint program of the
Center on Policy Attitudes and the Center for International and Security Studies
at Maryland (CISSM).
The Center
on Policy Attitudes (COPA) is a group of social science researchers
that was established in 1992. Its purpose is to give the public a greater
voice in the public policy process by seeking to discern public opinion
on public policy and to communicate its findings to the policy community,
academia and the press. It does this by:
- Conducting nationwide polls, focus groups and interviews
- Integrating its findings together with those from other organizations into a coherent analysis of majority opinion
- Actively communicating its findings
The Center for International and Security Studies
at Maryland (CISSM) was established in 1987, and is based at the School
of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. It is located just
outside Washington, DC, in College Park, Maryland -- a site that reflects
CISSM's roots in the academic community and close ties to the world
of policy. By involving faculty, students, and visiting scholars from
a wide range of disciplines the Center enlivens and broadens campus
discussion. Through its research, conferences, and publications, CISSM
reaches beyond the University to the policy community to improve communications
between scholars and practitioners.
Research Projects
Since
its inception, PIPA has carried out numerous studies of public attitudes
on various international topics including:
- The Role of the United States in the World
- The United Nations
- UN Peacekeeping
- Foreign Aid
- The International Monetary Fund
- US Defense Spending
- US Involvement in Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia
- Global Warming
- NATO Expansion
- Transatlantic Issues
- European Unification
For
these studies, PIPA has conducted focus groups with representative samples
of the public in cities across the country, reviewed existing polling
data from other organizations, carried out in-depth interviews with
representative samples of the public and conducted extensive nationwide
polls.
In addition
to its studies of American public opinion PIPA has conducted studies
of perception of the public held by members of the American policy community,
and comparisons of Americans public opinion with European public opinion
on a variety of transatlantic issues.
PIPA's Personnel
Steven Kull, Director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and
the Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA) is a political psychologist
who studies world public opinion on international issues. He directs
the PIPA/Knowledge Networks poll which conducts ongoing surveys of
the US public, plays a central role in the BBC World Service Poll
of global opinion and is directing a major study of social support
of anti-American terrorism in Islamic countries. His articles have
appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Foreign Policy, Public Opinion
Quarterly, Harpers, The Washington Post and other publications. His
most recent book, co-authored with I.M. Destler, is Misreading the
Public: The Myth of a New Isolationism, (Brookings). He regularly
appears in the US and international media and gives briefings for
the US Congress, the State Department, NATO, the UN and the EC. He
is a faculty member of the School of Public Publicy at the University
of Maryland and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
I.M. Destler, former director of CISSM and chair of PIPA's
Board of Advisors, is Professor at the School of Public Policy, University
of Maryland, and Visiting Fellow at the Institute for International
Economics. He is author of: Presidents, Bureaucrats, and Foreign
Policy (Simon and Schuster); and Beyond the Beltway: Engaging
the Public in the US Foreign Policy, (co-edited with Daniel Yankelovich,
(Norton), and other works. His previous positions include Senior Associate,
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Senior Fellow, Brookings
Institution. His articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, Political Science Quarterly, The Washington Post, The
New York Times, International Security and other publications.
Clay Ramsay, COPA Research Director and CISSM fellow, has
been with COPA since 1992. With a background in history and psychology,
he has focused on the study of ideology and mass psychology. He received
his Ph.D. in History from Stanford University, has taught at Oberlin
College, and is the author of The Ideology of the Great Fear (Johns Hopkins).
Stephen J. Weber, Chief Operating Officer of the Center on Policy
Attitudes, is a social psychologist. Prior to COPA, he was Executive
Vice President at Synovate, a top 10 global survey and market research
organization where he headed the Public Sector Research division and
the firm's specialized industry groups. He has directed major survey
programs for such clients as the National Institutes of Health, the
Center for Disease Control, the Federal Reserve and for many Fortune
500 companies. Mr. Weber received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Northwestern
University.
Mary Speck, Managing Editor at PIPA, worked as a foreign correspondent in Latin America for more than a decade. She was Foreign Policy/Intelligence reporter for the Congressional Quarterly and headed the Miami Herald’s Bogotá Bureau. She has also reported for the Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, NPR, and CBS News, among others. She is a Ph.D. candidate in History at Stanford University, where she is completing a dissertation on pre-Revolutionary Cuba.
Evan Scot Lewis, is a Research Associate at PIPA. He received his Bachelors
Degree at the University of Colorado and his Masters Degree at The
American University. As a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Maryland,
his research interests have focused on international relations, political
economy, and the politics of land use management in Colorado and Maryland.
He was a Harrison Fellow and has taught at both the University of
Maryland and George Washington University.
Melinda Brouwer is Communications and Research Coordinator at PIPA. She received her bacheleor's degree in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received a graduate diploma in International Relations from the University of Chile during her tenure as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. She has worked on Capitol Hill, at the State Department, for Foreign Policy magazine and the American Academy of Diplomacy. In 2006 she earned a Masters degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Melanie Ciolek, is a Research Assistant. She received her Bachelors
degree in international politics from the Walsh School of Foreign
Service at Georgetown University. Her past research interests have
focused on presidential leadership in Argentina in the 1990s and U.S.
approaches to multilateralism.
Abe Medoff, is a Research and Administrative Assistant. He received
a BA in International Affairs with concentrations in Conflict &
Security and International Politics from The George Washington University.
His research interests include military affairs, terrorism, and Central
Asia.
Jobs and Internships at PIPA
INTERN: International Affairs/Public Opinion Research
The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) was established in 1992 with the purpose of giving public opinion a greater voice in international relations. PIPA conducts in-depth studies of public opinion that include polls, focus groups and interviews. We are located near Dupont Circle with convenient Metro access.
PIPA has paid summer internship positions available starting in mid-to-late May. We are looking to hire several interns to work either on a full-time or part-time basis. An individual may have the opportunity to continue working beyond the summer as well.
Interns assist with office and research duties, depending on the needs of the organization. In addition to research, duties include assisting in event planning; updating and maintaining PIPA databases; gathering information and data from the Internet, government and non-governmental libraries; preparing reports; helping with media monitoring; and answering phones.
The ideal candidate will be an undergraduate with an interest in international affairs, public policy, government, international relations, political psychology, and/or sociology. We are seeking individuals with experience using the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) and conducting Internet and Lexis/Nexis-based research.
Foreign language skills are a clear plus, particularly languages other than French or Spanish (e.g., languages of the Middle East, Asia, or Slavic languages), but not a requirement. Please note any language skills and your level of reading/writing proficiency in your cover letter. Students with international backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
To apply, send cover letter and resume to: Abe Medoff, PIPA, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 510, Washington, DC 20036; fax: (202) 232-1159; or email, info@pipa.org. For more information, consult the WorldPublicOpinion.org website at www.worldpublicopinion.org.