Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame

Book Cover: In Our Interest by Alexander Kustov
Columbia University Press
Available on Amazon
Upcoming Events
Mar 6 Book Talk: U of Kentucky Lexington, KY
Mar 22-25 ISA Annual Convention Columbus, OH
Apr 1-3 Book Talk: U Calgary Calgary, Canada
Apr 10 Book Talk: AEI Washington, DC
Apr 13 Book Talk: Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
Apr 23–26 MPSA Annual Conference Chicago, IL
May 5 Book Talk: IAST Toulouse, France
Jun 16–18 CES Conference Dublin, Ireland
Jun 18–20 EPSS Annual Conference Belfast, UK

Media Engagement

For all media and event inquiries, feel free to reach out via email: akustov [at] nd [dot] edu.

Topic:
Format:
Making Immigration Popular with Alex Kustov
Opinion Science · Mar 2, 2025
Interview
Western Countries Do Not "Need" Immigration
Popular by Design · Feb 19, 2026
Essay
What's the Matter with Foreign Students?
Popular by Design · Feb 16, 2026
Essay
Reflections on "The Uncomfortable Truths about Immigration"
Popular by Design · Feb 10, 2026
Essay
The Uncomfortable Truths About Immigration
Popular by Design · Jan 22, 2026
Essay
Making immigration popular by making better policies
EUI Research Shorts · Jan 30, 2026
Analysis
How Trump transformed immigration policy
Good Authority · Jan 30, 2026
Analysis
Immigration Is Not One Thing That Has Effects
Popular by Design · Dec 8, 2025
Analysis
Why Japan Is So Uncanny… Uncannily Normal
Popular by Design · Nov 25, 2025
Essay
The Immigration Substack Universe
Popular by Design · Nov 13, 2025
Analysis
Mention: Let's automate immigration policy
The Argument · Nov 14, 2025
Mention
The only way to reduce immigration's salience as a political problem is to make the system work better
Konrad Foundation · Oct 10, 2025
Interview
The Formula for Making Immigration Popular With American Voters
Reason Magazine · Oct 1, 2025
Essay
Do People Like Refugees more than Economic Immigrants?
Popular by Design · Sep 17, 2025
Analysis
"Why Don't You House Them Yourself?" — Because I Legally Can't
Popular by Design · Sep 3, 2025
Analysis
Why Skilled Migration Is Popular: It's Not What You Think
Popular by Design · Aug 18, 2025
Analysis
How to Win on Immigration: Targeted Policies That Benefit the Economy Can Counter Rising Populism
Foreign Affairs · Aug 12, 2025
Essay
Welcome to "Popular by Design": A newsletter about immigration policies that work
Popular by Design · Aug 8, 2025
Essay
Good Chat: How democracies can make immigration more popular
Good Authority · Jun 26, 2025
Podcast
MPI-MMG in Dialogue: How Immigration can be made popular
Max Planck Institute · May 20, 2025
Interview
The Myth of the Xenophobic Voter
Columbia University Press Blog · May 19, 2025
Essay
Making Immigration Popular Ft. Alexander Kustov
The New Liberal Podcast · May 13, 2025
Podcast
Mention: Immigration, Deportations, and Trump's Popularity
The Atlantic · May 2025
Mention
Canada as a role model: How to make migration popular again in Germany
Sächsische Zeitung · May 9, 2025
Essay
Behold the Great American Immigration Thermostat
Laissez-faire, laissez-passer · May 6, 2025
Essay
Good to Know: Populism
Good Authority · Mar 21, 2025
Explainer
Germany's far-right party made huge gains in the 2025 elections
Good Authority · Feb 26, 2025
Analysis
The coming politics of population decline
Good Authority · Feb 10, 2025
Analysis
Can Trump manage immigration effectively – and not just reduce it?
Good Authority · Jan 21, 2025
Op-ed
Changing minds on immigration reform means changing voters' priorities, not just their positions
LSE Blog · Jan 17, 2025
Analysis
Better Policies, Not Preaching, Can Make Immigration Popular
Politics and Rights Review · Jan 15, 2025
Op-ed
Good to Know: The public is a thermostat
Good Authority · Jan 3, 2025
Explainer
Make migration popular again! It can be done, says this researcher
De Correspondent · Nov 17, 2024
Interview
What does Trump's second term mean for immigration?
Good Authority · Nov 13, 2024
Analysis
Mention: Trump, National Decline, and the Data
The New York Times · Oct 29, 2024
Mention
Mention: The Great Immigration Public-Opinion Reversal
The Atlantic · Oct 2024
Mention
The U.S. immigration debate is a mess. It's different in Canada
Good Authority · Oct 14, 2024
Op-ed
Good to Know: Issue importance in politics
Good Authority · Aug 26, 2024
Explainer
Good to Know: What is sociotropic voting?
Good Authority · Aug 13, 2024
Explainer
Why Americans have reversed their thinking on immigration
Good Authority · Jul 25, 2024
Analysis
Politicians on all sides campaign on restricting immigration
Good Authority · Jun 20, 2024
Analysis
Why some countries are less welcoming to international students
Good Authority · May 20, 2024
Analysis
Do Programmatic Pro-Immigration Reforms Ever Hurt Democracy?
Migration Policy Centre Blog · May 16, 2024
Analysis
How to Make Immigration Popular Through Demonstrably Beneficial Policies
Bipartisan Policy Center · May 7, 2024
Podcast
Good to Know: Public backlash
Good Authority · May 6, 2024
Explainer
Mention: Without Realising It, Britain Has Become a Nation of Immigrants
The Economist · Mar 18, 2024
Mention
How immigration could shape the elections of 2024
LSE Blog · Feb 19, 2024
Essay
The two sides of immigration backlash
Niskanen Center · Jan 3, 2024
Podcast
60 years of campaign speeches reveal why we'll hear more divisive rhetoric in 2024
3Streams · Jul 9, 2023
Essay
Persuading People on Immigration is Hard but Here's What Can be Done
Migration Policy Centre Blog · Jun 13, 2023
Analysis
Mention: British Voters Want More Immigrants but Less Immigration
The Economist · May 25, 2023
Mention
Mention: The Expiration of Title 42 Is a Reality Check
Politico · May 12, 2023
Mention
Mention: How the Far Right's Rise Has Made Europeans More Pro-Immigration
Financial Times · May 2023
Mention
Why pro-immigration advocates face a systematic disadvantage
3Streams · Oct 25, 2022
Essay
Immigration opponents are far more passionate than supporters
The Washington Post · Jul 14, 2022
Op-ed
Ethnic diversity as an outcome: the coevolution of state capacity and racial demography in Brazil
Broadstreet Blog · Mar 25, 2022
Analysis
Why immigration policy needs more enlightened nationalism
Center for Growth and Opportunity · Jan 10, 2022
Essay
Puerto Ricans voted to become the 51st U.S. state — again
The Washington Post · Nov 13, 2020
Op-ed
'Bloom where you're planted' or why people dislike (e)migration
ISPP Blog · Jun 22, 2020
Analysis
Mention: Trump's Racial Rhetoric Keeps Base Mobilized Through Repetition
USA Today · Aug 9, 2019
Mention
The Parochial Altruist: Why Voters Are Sceptical About Immigration
LSE Blog · Dec 18, 2018
Analysis
Does it Matter that People Overestimate the Number of Muslims in America?
Political Violence at a Glance · Dec 22, 2016
Analysis