Risa Toha

Risa Toha serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, specializing in comparative ethnic politics, political violence, elections, and Southeast Asian political economy. Her acclaimed book Rioting for Representation: Local Ethnic Mobilization in Democratizing Countries (Cambridge University Press, 2021) analyzes ethnic riots in Indonesia's democratic transition.

Her educational qualifications include:

• PhD, University of California Los Angeles (2012)
• AB, Princeton University (2003)

Professor Toha's research centers on micro-dynamics of ethnic mobilization, political violence, and electoral processes in Southeast Asia. She investigates how local political actors employ violence to protest exclusion during democratization, with particular focus on Indonesia's post-Soeharto political landscape. Her work bridges comparative politics, conflict studies, and political economy through rigorous mixed-method approaches.

Recent publications (2020-2024) reveal consistent thematic focus on Indonesian electoral politics, including youth voting behavior in the 2024 presidential election, democratic erosion among educated elites, normalization of political intolerance, and evolving typologies of electoral violence. These works demonstrate methodological sophistication in analyzing micro-level political behavior within Southeast Asia's complex democratization processes.

Her research has secured significant external funding from the Singapore Social Science Research Council, Singapore’s Ministry of Education, Mustard Seed Foundation, Pacific Rim Research Organization, and the US Department of Education.