Prof. Polly J. Diven

Associate Professor of Political Science
Program Coordinator for International Relations

Education
Ph.D., Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1995.
M.A.L.D., International Relations, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, 1985.
B.A., Political Science, Hamilton College, 1982.

Courses
International Relations
U.S. Foreign Policy
Great Decisions
Capstone in International Relations
Capstone in Political Science

Recent Honors and Awards
Pew Teaching Award, 2004
Netherlands Initiative Travel Grant, 2004
Padnos International Center Partnership Grant (Travel to France), 2006

Selected Publications

"The Hyperpluralism of U.S. Food Aid," Foreign Policy Analysis 2 (4): 361-384 (2006).

“Interest Groups in International and Transnational Politics,” in Research Guide to U.S.and International Interest Groups, (2004) edited by Clive S. Thomas. Praeger Press.

“Minority Influence and Political Interest Groups,” in Social Psychological Applications to Social Issues: Developments in Political Psychology, vol. V (2002), edited by Vincent Ottati. Plenum Press, co-authored with Christine M. Smith.

"The Domestic Determinants of U.S. Food Aid Policy," Food Policy, 26 (Fall 2001):455-474.

Recent Presentations

Trust in Government as a Determinant of Public Opinion on Foreign Aid Policy, presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association – Midwest, in St. Louis, on October 21, 2005.

U.S. Foreign Aid in the Cold War Era: Building Security, Trade or Empire? presented at the “War and Empire” conference at Grand Valley State University on October 7, 2005.

‘They Hate U.S. for our Freedom’: Competing Explanations for International Public Opinion of U.S. Foreign Policy under the Bush Administration, presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association in Honolulu, on March 6, 2005.

“Values, Ignorance and Economics: A Comparative Analysis of European and U.S. Public Opinion on Foreign Aid,” presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Chicago, September 2004.

Biography
I joined the faculty in political science at GVSU in 1994. That means I've been in this department longer than anyone else, though Professors King and Constantelos came soon after. I became the IR Coordinator in the middle of last summer. My area of greatest expertise is U.S. foreign poicy, but I enjoy teaching courses in international Relations and U.S. foreign policy. My research focuses on the intersection of U.S. domestic politics and U.S. foreign policy, and I am particularly interested in how domestic interest groups influence foreign policy. Recently my research has focused on the determinants of public opinion on U.S. foreign policy. I am currently working on a paper that compares the impact of values and knowledge on public opinion in the U.S. and several European countries. I am also studying trends in anti-Americanism. In my free time (what free time?), I enjoy my family and my garden.