Conversations in Conflict Studies Presents Erin Hern

Erin Hern, associate professor of political science, will discuss “Visibility of Autocratization, Voter Behavior, and Election Outcomes.” 

A growing body of research seeks to understand how voters respond to democratically elected incumbents who undermine democratic institutions. Hern argues that an important factor in understanding citizen responses is how visibly autocratic incumbent behavior is. She develops this concept and shows that, across African elections since 1990, visibly autocratizing presidents are much more likely to lose office.