Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Michigan State University
Nicholas Kerr’s research and teaching interests coalesce around the comparative study of electoral institutions, elections and democratization, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa. His current book project, Election Commissions and Democratization in Africa, explores the consequences of the design and performance of election commissions on the quality and legitimacy of elections. The project leverages cross-national data on election commissions in Africa and nationally-representative mass and elite survey data from Nigeria to explain how election commissions shape the strategic behavior and attitudes of African elites and citizens. Kerr’s most recent articles have appeared in Comparative Politics, Governance, Political Research Quarterly, Political Studies, Journal of Modern African Studies and Electoral Studies.