Elizabeth Carter

Elizabeth Carter is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire, where she has taught since 2015 after positions at the Max Planck Institute and UC Irvine. Her research integrates political science with sociology and economics to analyze political constructions of value in high-stakes markets.

Her educational background includes:

• B.A. from Whitman College
• M.A. from University of California - Berkeley
• M.P.A. from University of Washington
• Ph.D. from University of California - Berkeley

Carter's research centers on comparative political economy, specializing in European food/wine politics, fashion, and music industries. She investigates how producer organizations, historical narratives, and institutional frameworks construct market value and taste through political processes, with particular focus on France and Italy. Her work bridges cultural studies and institutional analysis to reveal power dynamics in quality certification systems.

Recent publications (2023-2025) show expanding scope from wine markets to music and manufacturing sectors while maintaining core theoretical focus on institutional construction of comparative advantage. Key trends include analysis of symbolic capital in terroir, contracted economies in creative industries, and standard-setting strategies among producer organizations.

Notable distinctions include:

• Visiting Scholar at Harvard’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (2017)
• Senior Fulbright Scholar at Universidad Carlos III Madrid (2020)

As faculty member teaching courses including Food and Wine Politics and Contemporary European Politics, Carter advises graduate students and develops curriculum examining political dimensions of cultural production. Her research program demonstrates sustained international collaboration through fieldwork in European wine regions and academic partnerships across multiple institutions.