Alexei Zakharov

I am a political economist with an interest in the political economy of authoritarian regimes, voter and political behavior, and the evolution of social norms, preferences, and economic behavior. In my research, I employ a wide variety of methods — formal theory, survey research, and experiments, including field experiments. Historically, my empirical research has been focused on Russia. 

My works have been published in American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Economic Theory, and other journals.

I am currently teaching a course on  Authoritarian Politics, and have regularly taught Political Economy and Game Theory at an advanced undergraduate level. I am also prepared to teach courses on research methods, undergraduate and graduate-level statistics, comparative politics and Russian politics. To my instruction, I bring over 10 years of on-the-ground experience with Russian civic and political initiatives such as election monitoring, street protests, and opposition campaigns. This aids me in understanding and explaining how autocracies function and where threats to democracy lie.