Kathleen Thelen

Kathleen Thelen is Ford Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in the evolution of political-economic institutions within advanced democracies. Her influential scholarship examines institutional change through comparative historical analysis.

Her research has significantly contributed to understanding skill formation systems, labor market institutions, and welfare state transformations. Recent publications investigate dualization in European political economies, theoretical frameworks for institutional change, and comparative analyses of capitalist systems across industrialized nations.

During her 2013 visiting fellowship at the WZB Global Governance unit, she advanced research on institutional change dynamics. Her books are widely recognized as foundational texts in historical institutionalism and comparative political economy.