Kelly McMann

Kelly M. McMann is the Lucy Adams Leffingwell Professor and a Professor of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University. She is also the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project Manager for Subnational Government. Her research focuses on democracy, democratization, local politics, corruption, economic reform, and postcommunist politics. 

At the Kellogg Institute, McMann will work on her project "Democracy's Advantages."  Examining numerous economic, environmental, health, and security problems and guided by an initial theoretical framework, this project will provide an answer to the question, when are democracies, or other regime types, more successful at mitigating problems?

Her publications include Economic Autonomy and Democracy: Hybrid Regimes in Russia and Kyrgyzstan (Cambridge University Press) and Corruption as a Last Resort: Adapting to the Market in Central Asia (Cornell University Press). Her work has also been published in the journals Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, Democratization, and Political Analysis. 

McMann has received grants and fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, the Social Science Research Council, the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, and the International Research & Exchanges Board. She regularly shares her expertise with international organizations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International IDEA, and the International Centre for Local Democracy.

She conducted postdoctoral research at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University before working at Case Western Reserve University. She holds a PhD from the University of Michigan.