|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Devra Coren Moehler
|
||||||||
| Devra
C. Moehler studies comparative politics with a focus on democratization,
democracy and governance promotion, political communication and knowledge,
political behavior, constitution-making, the creation of laws and norms,
political economy of development, and African politics. Moehler is primarily
interested in how mass publics react to political and economic liberalizations
and how, in turn, popular attitudes and actions shape democratic transitions.
Moehler is the author of Distrusting Democrats: Outcomes of Participatory Constitution-Making (2008, University of Michigan Press). How does mass participation affect political culture in countries undergoing political transition? Does participation lead people to invest or to disinvest in democracy? The book responds to those questions by examining the consequences of citizen involvement in the Ugandan constitution-making process. Contrary to theoretical predictions, participation created distrusting democrats, citizens who are democratic in their attitudes but suspicious of their governmental institutions. Moehler argues that participation in developing democracies gives citizens new tools with which to evaluate their imperfectly-performing institutions. Participation raises democratic expectations and alerts citizens to existing democratic deficits. The general implications for constitution-building countries are clear: short-term risks of disillusionment and instability; and long-term advantages from a more sophisticated citizenry capable of monitoring leaders and promoting political development. Moehler's current work examines the political consequences of increasing media diversity and penetration in Africa. She seeks to determine the conditions under which new sources will enlighten, deceive, or be ignored by citizens in formerly information scarce settings. She also investigates how mass media can facilitate good governance and democratic development by reducing information asymmetries between officials and constituents and by mobilizing citizens to defend their interests. Moehler is also working several
other projects including: 1) experimental and quasi-experimental examinations
of donor-funded democracy and good governance promotion activities; 2)
studies of the effects of electoral qualities on citizen evaluations of
government legitimacy; 3) an article that uses bargaining between key
actors in the refugee system to explain why ostensibly "temporary"
refugee populations endure despite the consensus that "durable solutions"
(repatriation, integration, resettlement) are preferred outcomes; 4) an
investigation as to why anti-Americanism appears much more muted in Africa
than in other regions of the world.
|
|
|||||||