Jefferey Sellers

Jefferey Sellers is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC), with a courtesy appointment in the Sol Price School of Public Policy. His research focuses on comparative politics, urban governance, and environmental policy, with a global scope emphasizing multilevel governance, decentralization, and metropolitan political ecology. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University (1994) and a J.D. from Yale Law School (1986).

Education: Ph.D. Political Science, Yale University (1994); J.D. and D.C.L. (Law and Political Theory), Yale Law School (1986).

Research Interests: Sellers investigates multilevel governance frameworks, urban political economy, and environmental policy. His work analyzes institutions and state-society relations at local scales, with projects on global urbanization dynamics, metropolitan governance networks, and the political ecology of cities. Recent projects include studies on China and India's urbanization patterns using remote sensing and collaborations through the International Metropolitan Observatory.

Awards and Grants: Recipient of the Daniel Elazar Distinguished Scholar Award (2022–2023), NSF grants, Haynes Foundation fellowships, and the USC Raubenheimer Outstanding Junior Faculty Award. His research has been supported by entities like the Social Science Research Council and the French National Center for Scientific Research.

Key Projects: Co-founder of the International Metropolitan Observatory; led the Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization; principal investigator on studies comparing urbanization in China and India, funded by the Asia-Pacific Network and NSF.

Teaching: Courses include Comparative Politics, Urban Political Problems, and Environmental Law and Policy. Recognized for innovative teaching methods, including climate change and interdisciplinary approaches.