Assistant Professor of Political Science

B.S., Olivet Nazarene University; Ph.D., University of Illinois

Profile

Dr. Matthew Cawvey, Assistant Professor of Political Science, invites Erskine students to share his interest in citizenship. Through in-class activities and readings, he encourages students to respond in informed, thoughtful, meaningful, and ethical ways to fellow citizens, politicians, and others in the political system. Key to Dr. Cawvey’s approach in the classroom, and to Erskine’s mission as a Christian liberal arts college, is the integration of faith and learning.

On faculty since fall 2019, Dr. Cawvey has worked with Erskine students in such classes as American Government, U.S. Presidency, European Politics, Christian Political Thought, and a special topics course on democratic citizenship.

Dr. Cawvey earned his B.S. degree with a double major in Journalism and Political Science at Olivet Nazarene University, a Christian school in Illinois. Soon afterward, he entered the Political Science Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois, studying public opinion in the United States and around the world. Before coming to Erskine, he taught for a year at Oklahoma State University and worked as a public opinion researcher at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Publications

• “Introverted and Closed-Minded: The Psychological Roots of Support for Autocracy in Latin America.” Journal of Politics in Latin America. Forthcoming. With Paula Armendáriz Miranda.
• “Who Sees Corruption? The Bases of Mass Perceptions of Political Corruption in Latin America.” Journal of Politics in Latin America. 2019. With Damarys Canache, Matthew Hayes, and Jeffery J. Mondak.
• “The Impact of Personality on Response Patterns on Public Opinion Surveys: The Big Five, Extreme Response Style, and Acquiescence Response Style.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research. 2019. With Matthew V. Hibbing, Raman Deol, Andrew J. Bloeser, and Jeffery J. Mondak.
• “Personality and Victimization in the Americas.” International Review of Victimology. 2018. With Matthew Hayes, Damarys Canache, and Jeffery J. Mondak.
• “Biological and Psychological Influences on Interpersonal and Political Trust.” In Eric Uslaner, ed., Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2018. With Matthew Hayes, Damarys Canache, and Jeffery J. Mondak.
• “Personality and Political Behavior.” Politics: Oxford Research Encyclopedias. 2017. With Matthew Hayes, Damarys Canache, and Jeffery J. Mondak.
• “Governance Obstacles to Geothermal Energy Development in Indonesia.” 2015. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 34: 27–56. With Matthew S. Winters.