Robert Mickey

Robert Mickey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). He specializes in American and comparative politics, political development, and race-related studies. His research examines U.S. democratization, democratic backsliding, and racial conflict. Mickey has received multiple teaching awards, including the Tronstein Prize (2019) and Golden Apple nominations (2017, 2021). His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary issues, including police perceptions, Reconstruction comparisons, and racial attitudes' impact on democracy.

Education: Harvard University (Ph.D., Political Science), Brown University (B.A., Political Science & Philosophy).

Research highlights include Paths Out of Dixie (2016), analyzing Deep South democratization, and collaborations on policing legacies with UC-Berkeley and Harvard. He co-founded the Eldersveld Emerging Scholars Conference and advises graduate programs through Rackham's initiatives. Current projects include a Russell Sage Foundation-supported study on mid-20th-century urban conflict and a comparative analysis of post-war democratic reconstruction.

Awards include the J. David Greenstone Prize (APSA, 2016) and V.O. Key Award (2017). Mickey actively engages in public scholarship, contributing to Detroit's Reparations Task Force report and advising Washtenaw County's reparative policing efforts.