The Influence of Comparisons on Assessments of Democracy: The Case of the United States

Jennifer Gandhi
Howard Wang ’95 Professor of Global Affairs and Political Science
Deputy Dean, the Jackson School of Global Affairs
Yale University

Comparisons often feature in political discourse on democracy. How do comparisons - across space and time - influence mass perceptions of democracy? Building on economic and psychological theories, we investigate the role of comparisons in shaping Americans' assessments of subnational democracy. 

Jennifer Gandhi is the Howard Wang ’95 Professor of Global Affairs and Political Science and deputy dean of the Jackson School of Global Affairs at Yale University. Her research focuses on comparative politics and political economy, particularly authoritarian regimes and democratic transitions, and she is the author of the award-winning book Political Institutions under Dictatorship.