Jordan Cash
Assistant Professor of Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy Michigan State University
- East Lansing MI
Jordan Cash’s teaching and research sits at the intersection of American political thought and constitutionalism.
Media
Biography
In addition to working with students in the classroom, Professor Cash has enjoyed collaborating with students as research assistants, advising them on their theses and participating in reading groups on major political thinkers.
Prior to coming to JMC, Professor Cash was a lecturer at Baylor University and the founder and director of the Zavala Program for Constitutional Studies. He was also a post-doctoral research fellow in the Program on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Virginia.
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Education
Baylor University
Ph.D.
Political Science and Government
2019
Baylor University
M.A.
Political Science and Government
2016
University of Nebraska at Omaha
B.A.
History and Political Science
2011
News
Veterans transition from soldier to student at academic boot camp
MSU Today online
2024-07-23
Three MSU faculty participated in the week-long classes, leading sessions that included “The Declaration in Context” led by James Madison College’s Associate Professor Benjamin Lorch; “The Constitutional Framework” by Associate Professor Ian Ostrander in the Department of Political Science; and “Public Service in Contemporary America” by Assistant Professor Jordan Cash, also from James Madison College.
Ask the expert: Chevron case could upend government power
MSU Today online
2024-06-18
Jordan Cash, an assistant professor of political theory and constitutional democracy in Michigan State University’s James Madison College, answers questions on an overview of this case and what an overturning could mean.
Episode #25 - Presidential Fantasy Draft
The Constitutionalist Podcast online
2024-05-30
To celebrate the twenty-fifth episode of The Constitutionalist, Shane Leary and Dr. Benjamin Kleinerman host a presidential fantasy draft. For this episode they are joined by three faculty of the Baylor University political science department, previous guests Dr. Jordan Cash and Dr. David Bridge, as well as Dr. Curt Nichols.
Ask the expert: What is Constitution Day?
MSU Today online
2023-09-15
Sunday, Sept. 17 is Constitution Day — but what is it exactly? Jordan Cash, assistant professor of political theory and constitutional democracy in Michigan State University’s James Madison College, explains this lesser-known holiday and its importance.
Journal Articles
The Constitutional Agency of the Vice Presidency
Congress & the Presidency2022
The vice presidency is often viewed as constitutionally devoid of any importance or power. Most research on the vice presidency argues that it is only as the vice presidency moved into the executive branch and became more tied to the president that the office gained significance. Yet this significance has come at the cost of the vice presidency’s agency. Vice presidents are more powerful now, but also more subordinate to the president. By drawing out the theory underlying the structure, duties, and powers of the vice presidency, I demonstrate that the Constitution positions the vice president to be an independent institutional actor with the capacity for autonomous action apart from the president and Congress. Furthermore, the vice president’s potential for acting with agency remains salient despite subsequent constitutional amendments and changes in political practices. Indeed, I argue that the development of the modern vice presidency has created tensions at odds with the office’s underlying constitutional structure and authority.
‘A Purer Form of Government’: African American Constitutionalism in the Founding of Liberia
Journal of Transatlantic Studies2021
The African Americans who wrote the Liberian constitution of 1847 represent one of the few instances where Americans engaged national constitution-making after 1787. While the Liberians adopted many aspects of the American constitution, they also made substantial changes implicitly critiquing the American original and forging a uniquely African American constitutionalism. Examining the Liberian constitution contributes to three fields of study: comparative constitutionalism, American political development, and African American political thought. In comparative constitutionalism, the Liberians show the adaptability of American constitutional principles to the west coast of Africa. In American political development, the Liberians provide a snapshot of what a subset of Americans disliked about the American constitution and what they changed when given the chance. Finally, the Liberians demonstrate how ideas of black nationalism and American constitutionalism may be intertwined in African American political thought.
“The Voice of America”: The Speaker of the House and Foreign Policy Agenda-Setting
Polity2020
This article explores how Speakers of the House act as foreign policy entrepreneurs. I examine the conditions under which speakers may successfully achieve their foreign policy goals using Henry Clay, Thomas Reed, and Jim Wright as “most likely” case studies. I posit that speakers may act with considerable agency and entrepreneurship in foreign policy, but only succeed under conditions of divided government, when they have significant support from their membership, and when the policy is conducive to legislative action. Even then, speakers may need to use authority outside their formal powers to be successful.
