James D. Long

James D. Long

James D. Long is an Associate Professor of Political Science and a co-founder of the Political Economy Forum at the University of Washington. His research in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia focuses on elections in developing countries, including the determinants of voting behavior, the dynamics of electoral fraud, the impact of ICT and digital media on corruption monitoring, and the effects of civil war and insurgency on state-building. He is the host of the Forum’s podcast series, “Neither Free Nor Fair?” about election security and the fate of democracy in the 21st century.

His most recent work, the subject of a TedX@UW talk, examines ways that ICT and digital media can address problems of information and human welfare in developing countries, building multi-channel platforms that drive citizen engagement, reporting, and monitoring on matters related to peace-building, elections, government performance, corruption, and service provision.

In 2010, he served as Democracy Internationalʼs Research Director for their Election Observation mission for Afghanistan and has observed elections in South Africa (2014), Kenya (2013, 2007), Egypt (2011), Uganda (2011), Afghanistan (2014, 2010, 2009), and Ghana (2008).