Professor, Political Science
Environmental Research Building 5133
rburkha@boisestate.edu
(208) 426-3280
Office Hours
By Appointment
Courses
- POLS 395
- POLS 424: Canadian Politics
- POLS 505: Comparative Politics
Biography
Dr. Burkhart specializes in research on explanatory factors of cross-national democratization patterns, Canada-US borderlands and environmental policy, and political culture. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and has been a visiting professor at the Norwegian Technical and National University in Trondheim, Norway. Dr. Burkhart’s book Turmoil in American Public Policy: Science, Democracy, and the Environment, was published by Praeger Press (2010). His research has also been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including American Political Science Review, American Review of Canadian Studies, European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Borderlands Studies, Journal of Politics, Social Science Journal, and Social Science Quarterly.
Research
Dr. Burkhart’s research interests are in analyzing cross-national democratization patterns and US-Canada environmental relations. His research has been published in several journals and books, including the American Political Science Review, European Journal of Political Research, International Journal of Canadian Studies, Journal of Politics, Social Science Quarterly, and Studies in Comparative International Development.
Selected Papers
- Comparative Democracy: The Economic Development Thesis [.pdf]
- Canada-U.S. Border Communities: What the People Have to Say  [.pdf]
- Political Culture and Ideology in the Mountain West: Regionalism in the State of Idaho [.pdf]
Books
Turmoil in American Public Policy: Science, Democracy and the Environment
These are the key questions that this primary textbook for courses on American public policymaking and environmental policymaking addresses and attempts to answer. Turmoil in American Public Policy: Science, Democracy, and the Environment first lays out the basics of the policymaking process in the United States in relation to the substantive issues of environmental policymaking. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, the authors highlight the views and experiences of scientists, especially natural scientists, in their interactions with policymakers and their efforts to harness the findings of their science to rational public policy.
More of Dr. Burkhart’s publications can be found on ScholarWorks