Arbour received his Ph.D. from the Department of Government at UT-Austin in 2007. His research focuses on political communication and campaign strategy. Commenting on the use of Skype in political campaigns, Arbour points to the transformative effects of cost-reducing technology. “Think of how technology has changed the cost of long-distance calling. Cell phones have greatly reduced the cost of long distance calls, and with Skype, the internet can be used to reduce the cost further, by calling on the internet.