Steven J. Balla

Areas of Expertise

American politics, Chinese politics, regulation, government consultation and public participation in the policymaking process

Background

Steven J. Balla is Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs. He is Co-Director of the George Washington Regulatory Studies Center, and Research Director of the George Washington Confucius Institute. He researches government consultation and public participation in policymaking in the United States and China. He has on two occasions served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States, drawing on his research on public commenting in the U.S. rulemaking process to make recommendations for how to improve regulatory policymaking. He has twice served as a Fulbright Scholar in China, at Peking University in Beijing and Nankai University in Tianjin. He is currently working on projects on congressional oversight of regulatory policymaking, public commenting on midnight regulations, polarization in public commenting on proposed rules, and Chinese government consultation and responsiveness to public feedback on draft laws and regulations.

Education

PhD, Political Science, Duke University

MA, Political Science, Duke University

BA, Government and Economics, Franklin and Marshall College

CV (PDF)

Publications

“Consultation as Policymaking Innovation: Comparing Government Transparency and Public Participation in China and the United States.” With Zhoudan Xie. Journal of Chinese Governance. 2020.

“Lost in the Flood?: Agency Responsiveness to Mass Comment Campaigns in Administrative Rulemaking.” With Alexander R. Beck, Elizabeth Meehan, and Aryamala Prasad. Regulation & Governance. 2020.

“Online Consultation and the Institutionalization of Transparency and Participation in Chinese Policymaking.” With Zhoudan Xie. China Quarterly. 2020.

"Where’s the Spam?: Interest Groups and Mass Comment Campaigns in Agency Rulemaking." With Alexander R. Beck, William C. Cubbison, and Aryamala Prasad. Policy & Internet. 2019.

Office Hours

By appointment

Classes Taught

PSC 2101: Scope and Methods in Political Science

PSC 3193W: Politics of Regulation

PSC 8229: Politics and Public Policy

PSC 8217: Executive Branch Politics

PSC8286: Contemporary Research on American Political Institutions