Welcome! Bienvenue! Mirësevini!

I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan.

My research and teaching interests encompass the areas of comparative political economy, distributive policies, democratization, institutions, corruption, migration and electoral representation. I am particularly interested in the implications of party politics, institutional configurations and distributive policies on voter-party alignments and patterns of economic development and democratic performance. To systematically examine broad trends in these dynamics, I combine cross-national analysis with a focused geographical expertise in the developing, post-communist democracies of Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Balkans region. My work engages with qualitative, formal and empirical methods.

My manuscript examines impediments to democratization by focusing on the determinants of within and across country variation in patterns of electoral tolerance of political graft in developing democracies. With a specific focus on the post-socialist democracies of Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, I engage in a combination of methodological approaches to systematically assess the link between party strategies and voters’ electoral tolerance of non-democratic conduct by parties and elected representatives. Ultimately, I analyze how these dynamics shape policy formation and overall democratic consolidation in transitioning societies.

Prior to my doctoral education, I acquired an A.S. (with high distinction) in Computer Science & Engineering, a  B.A (with high distinction) and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.