Charles Lipson

Charles Lipson

Charles Lipson is the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he founded the programme on International Politics, Economics, and Security.

Vance vs Walz was what a debate should look like

The most important takeaway from the vice-presidential debate between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz is that this is what a serious debate for high office should look like. It was calm but impassioned, thoughtful, and truly helpful to any voter who wants to understand the policy differences between the two tickets. The candidates

What happens if the American election is a tie?

32 min listen

America has a peculiar way of deciding national elections. Instead of a cumulative national vote, the president and vice president are determined by fifty separate state elections. The top ticket in each state (except Nebraska and Maine) receives all that state’s electoral votes, no matter how slim the margin of victory. Each state’s electoral votes

How Donald Trump lost the debate

If Kamala Harris is elected president – and that’s a big ‘if’ since the race is still tight – she won it on the debate stage in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. True, her answers were often vague, but they were also inspirational and forward-looking. She avoided the ‘word salads’ that have so often marred her (rare) comments without a