Nicholas Kerr

Nicholas Kerr is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida. His academic work focuses on electoral institutions, elections, and democratization with a regional emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Kerr's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Political Science from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Williams College. His formative education was completed at Campion College High School in Kingston, Jamaica.

His research interests span several interconnected areas:

• Comparative political institutions and democratization processes
• Political behavior and identity (ethnicity, partisanship, and religion)
• Public opinion dynamics in electoral contexts
• Quantitative research methods applied to political phenomena

Dr. Kerr's current research examines how multiparty elections in electoral democracies and competitive autocracies influence elite and mass evaluations of political legitimacy. His book project, 'Election Commissions and Democratization in Africa,' explores how election commission design affects election quality and legitimacy across Africa.

His scholarly work has been published in leading journals including:

• Comparative Politics
• Electoral Studies
• Governance
• Journal of Modern African Studies
• Political Research Quarterly
• Political Studies

Dr. Kerr has extensive field experience, having conducted surveys in multiple African countries and observed elections in Ghana (2008) and Nigeria (2011, 2019). He has served as an advisor to prominent democracy promotion organizations including Freedom House, International Foundation of Electoral Systems, and National Democratic Institute.