Adam Hobbs – Political Science

About me

Adam Hobbs is a PhD student in the department of political science at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). He received his master’s degree from the University of Montana in 2019 and expects to complete his PhD in 2025. Broadly speaking, his research focuses on questions related to political economy and political behavior. His dissertation seeks to understand the relationship between housing markets and political attitudes in the US context. Specifically, he is interested in how housing markets shape attitudes towards trade, immigration, and foreign real estate investment (FREI). In the US, the family home is the largest asset in most individuals’ portfolio. It is also where people live, and as such it is where they raise families and pets, eat, spend time with friends, and process their lives. Thus, housing markets are intricately connected to individual well-being and subsequently political attitudes.

Adam recently published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Democratization titled “Violence, what is it good for? Waves of riotous-violent protest and democracy.” The paper explored the conditions under which violent protests become more effective. He and his co-authors argued that waves of riotous-violent protest increase the likelihood of protest success, particularly under democratic regimes. His other projects involve gender and economic voting, the causes of violent protests, and the relationship between foreclosure laws and redistributive attitudes. He has presented research at the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) conference, Western Political Science Association (WPSA) conference, and Political Institutions and Political Economy (PIPE) conference. He will be presenting his co-authored paper “The Attrition of Moderates: An Empirical Analysis of Protester Radicalism” at the 2024 American Political Science Association (APSA) conference in Philadelphia.