About
Steven Schaaf is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Mississippi, affiliated with the Department of Political Science and the Croft Institute for International Studies. His work bridges comparative politics, judicial behavior, and public opinion analysis, with a regional focus on the Middle East.
- B.A., International Relations; Law, Politics, and Society (Drake University, 2013)
- M.A. (George Washington University, 2016)
- Ph.D. (George Washington University, 2021)
Schaaf's research examines authoritarian governance, judicial politics, and public opinion dynamics in both the United States and Middle Eastern contexts. His projects analyze how legal institutions constrain authoritarian power, the racial dimensions of economic policy preferences, and the experimental modeling of polarization effects.
Recent publications highlight his focus on judicial decision-making in Jordan and Palestine, authoritarian rule variability, and legal activism as a resistance tool. This body of work spans interdisciplinary themes in law and society, comparative political systems, and political psychology.
