Jennifer Gandhi

Jennifer Gandhi is the Howard Wang ’95 Professor of Global Affairs and Political Science at Yale University, and Deputy Dean of the Jackson School of Global Affairs. Her research focuses on authoritarian regimes, political institutions under dictatorship, and transitions to democracy. She holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from New York University.

Her work includes the award-winning book Political Institutions under Dictatorship (Cambridge University Press, 2008) and key articles in leading journals like the American Journal of Political Science and Journal of Politics. Her current projects explore electoral autocracies, data manipulation in authoritarian states, and institutional effects on democratization.

Dr. Gandhi has advised numerous students and has been recognized for her contributions to comparative politics. She collaborates widely, with co-authors such as Ora John Reuter, Milan Svolik, and Jane Lawrence Sumner. Her research bridges theory and empirical analysis, examining how authoritarian institutions stabilize or destabilize regimes.