Research Interests
Democratization and Electoral Systems Choice
My primary research interest centers on the institutional choices made during processes of democratization and state formation. A cornerstone of my research is the investigation of the political dynamics underpinning the adoption of electoral systems. This includes the strategic calculations of dominant parties seeking to maintain their influence in changing electoral markets. Through historical and comparative analyses, I have demonstrated how electoral reforms often emerge as strategic trade-offs by incumbent parties facing competitive pressures. More specifically, my findings reveal that incumbents confronted with electoral threats from insurgent parties can pursue multiple strategies beyond the adoption of PR. These include malapportionment, gerrymandering, and forming electoral alliances as mechanisms of containment. Absent external shocks, such as wars, or extra-parliamentary mechanisms like direct democracy, these containment measures explain why the adoption of PR (and other power-dispersing institutions) remains an improbable outcome, underscoring the rarity and contingency of such institutional changes.
A particularly novel aspect of my work lies in analyzing the spatial and partisan dimensions of electoral system design. By focusing on district magnitudes, boundary configurations, and their long-term implications, my research sheds light on how the geographic distribution of voters influences institutional choices. This perspective reveals how electoral rules are not merely outcomes of historical and administrative boundaries but are shaped by deeply entrenched power structures seeking to engineer political advantages. These findings provide a nuanced understanding of how institutional reforms are linked to strategic partisan behavior.
State Formation and Institutional Design
My second major research area is understanding the historical and political foundations of modern state institutions, particularly in the areas of fiscal capacity, taxation, and state-society relationships. Through my research, I have sought to examine how societies respond to profound economic and political challenges such as industrialization, war, and social inequality and how these responses shape the long-term trajectories of taxation. At the heart of my work lies the exploration of state formation as a contested process driven by the interaction of political actors, economic forces, and societal needs. My research demonstrates that the development of fiscal systems is not merely a technical response to external pressures but a deeply political process, shaped by elite competition, public demands, and socio-demographic factors. This insight challenges deterministic accounts of state formation, instead emphasizing the dynamic interplay between institutional reforms and social transformations. I have shown, for example, how moments of crisis — such as wars or economic upheavals — can catalyze profound changes in fiscal policies, but only when aligned with domestic political coalitions and public support.
