White Burkett Miller Professor of Governance and Foreign Affairs
Fast Facts
- Author of What Happened to the Vital Center?
- White Burkett Miller Professor of Governance and Foreign Affairs
- Award-winning educator
Areas Of Expertise
- Social Issues
- Governance
- Elections
- Founding and Shaping of the Nation
- Political Parties and Movements
- Politics
- The Presidency
Sidney M. Milkis is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Governance and Foreign Affairs and a professor of politics. His research focuses on the American presidency, political parties and elections, social movements, and American political development. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, he regularly gives public lectures on American politics and participates in programs for international scholars and high school teachers that probe the deep historical roots of contemporary developments in the United States.
Milkis earned a BA degree from Muhlenberg College and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Featured Publications
Sidney Milkis News Feed
Donald Trump's second term has brought to the surface long-term challenges that have tested constitutional government in the United States: partisan polarization, presidential aggrandizement, economic inequality, and conflict over who belongs to the American political community. Are the country’s present discontents unprecedented? What other moments in history have strained constitutional norms and institutions? What are the prospects for resolving the political battles that have fractured the nation? Join a panel of experts including the Miller Center's Sid Milkis, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, Laura K. Field of the Brookings Institution, and UVA's James Hunter.
Miller Center Presents
This event will commemorate President’s Day with a focus on the possibilities and perils of the modern presidency. Presidency experts Sid Milkis, Elaine Kamarck, and William Howell will consider the causes and consequences of the near century-long expansion of executive power. Has the time come to restore limits on presidential authority? Is it possible to do so? Have there been other periods in our history when Congress, the courts, and public opinion have restored the boundaries that sustain constitutional norms and institutions?
Miller Center Presents
On the basis of in-depth interviews with LGBT activists, White House officials, and Democratic politicians, we show how gay rights activists, with critical support from Democratic party leaders, won the White House's support on issues such as the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and same-sex marriage by pressuring Obama publicly while simultaneously providing the administration with data and guidance in private. We conclude that the relationship between presidents, parties, and social movements, while highly contentious, is a critical dimension of contemporary partisanship.
Presidential Studies Quarterly
Speakers discuss the economic and social factors driving political polarization, particularly the growing urban/rural divide in America.
Miller Center Presents
On Friday, a Miller Center panel took a look at the rural versus urban divide, how it’s contributing to the American political landscape, and what can be done to mend it.
29 News
Can democracy and capitalism be reconciled? This is the foundational question debated in a new book edited by Sidney Milkis and Scott C. Miller. Join a conversation with a multidisciplinary panel of experts who explore the vibrant historical debate over whether democracy and capitalism can and should coexist in the United States.
Miller Center Presents