Research Expertise and Interest

democratic politics in economically developing states

Research Description

Jennifer Bussell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research seeks to understand the foundations of democratic politics in economically developing states. In particular she is interested in the effects of diverse formal and informal institutional constraints—such as federalism, coalition politics, and corruption—on the behavior of politicians in electorally competitive environments. Her regional focus is South Asia, and she has also conducted fieldwork in Africa and Latin America. Summaries of her research, including her books, Clients and Constituents: Political Responsiveness in Patronage Democracies (2019) and Corruption and Reform in India: Public Services in the Digital Age (2013), are available on her Research page.