About

I was born in West Virginia, grew up outside of Philadelphia, and have been living in DC for about two decades.  I’m a political scientist, with a Ph.D. from American University in Washington, DC.  My research area is reform politics and the intersections of law and politics, with a focus on framing and strategy. My dissertation research was on the Mississippi Tobacco Litigation, strategies for challenging the status quo via the courts, and how the boundary between law and politics is drawn in concrete disputes. I’m presently working on a project critiquing the concept of the “decision,” and offering the idea of the claim as an alternative. Relatedly, I’m also working on developing alternative models of politics that challenge overly formalist approaches that take legitimations around “democracy” as accurate descriptions of reality.

In my day job, I’m a research analyst doing surveys, focus groups, quantitative data analysis, as well as training and consulting with others in designing, conducting and effectively reporting on their own research.  I’ve also taught various undergraduate government classes, including constitutional law and general American politics.

I’m the organizer of the DC Jacobin Reading Group.

I write about politics, law and social science. Common themes are issues of democracy and inequality, conceptualization and the uses of language. I’m here to flesh out my own ideas, and to hear from you.

You can follow me on Twitter @DavidKaib or contact me at david.kaib@gmail.com. You can also like this blog on Facebook.