Bozena Welborne

Bozena Welborne is Associate Professor of Government and Director of the Program in Middle East Studies at Smith College. Her research examines women's political participation, political economy of the Middle East, and Muslim-American political engagement. She authored 'Women, Money, and Political Participation in the Middle East' (2022) and co-authored 'The Politics of the Headscarf in the United States' (2018), which presents findings from the largest academic survey of Muslim-American women.

She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from University of Colorado and B.A. from Colorado College. Her work analyzes how international funding influences women's political opportunities, gender quota implementation, and relationships between religious practice and political engagement. Publications appear in Social Sciences Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Middle East Law and Governance, and Digest of Middle East Studies.

Dr. Welborne's current research investigates labor nationalization policies in GCC states and gendered dimensions of resource curse theory. Prior to Smith, she was assistant professor at University of Nevada, Reno.