Sarah Bush
· Professor of Political ScienceUniversity of Pennsylvania · Political Science
Active 1987–2025
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About
Sarah Bush is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research examines how international actors try to aid democracy, promote women’s representation, and influence elections globally. A more recent interest is the politics of climate change. She is the author of two books: The Taming of Democracy Assistance: Why Democracy Promotion Does Not Confront Dictators (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and Monitors and Meddlers: How Foreign Actors Influence Local Trust in Elections (Cambridge University Press, 2022). Dr. Bush’s work has also appeared in journals such as the American Political Science Review and International Organization and has been covered in outlets including the Economist and Washington Post. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Research topics
- Political Science
- Economics
- Computer Science
- Law
- Sociology
- Political economy
- Development economics
- Geography
- Physics
- Economic growth
Selected publications
Foreign Meddling and Mass Attitudes Toward International Economic Engagement
International Organization · 2020 · 69 citations
1st authorCorrespondingAbstract What explains variation in individual preferences for foreign economic engagement? Although a large and growing literature addresses that question, little research examines how partner countries affect public opinion on policies such as trade, foreign aid, and investment. We construct a new theory arguing that political side-taking by outside powers shapes individuals’ support for engaging economically with those countries. We test the theory using original surveys in the United States…
Zombies ahead: Explaining the rise of low-quality election monitoring
The Review of International Organizations · 2024 · 25 citations
1st authorCorrespondingAbstract The international election monitoring regime has become considerably more complex in the twenty-first century. Although the number of organizations engaged in high-quality election monitoring has plateaued, the number of low-quality monitors—commonly known as zombie monitors—has continued to grow. Low-quality election monitors threaten democracy because they validate flawed elections and undermine the legitimacy of the international election monitoring regime. This article argues that i…
National Identity and Democracy Ratings
Comparative Political Studies · 2024-06-10 · 4 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingGlobal performance indicators, such as democracy ratings, are influential tools of global governance and can have a direct bearing on foreign policy, aid, and investment. Many of these indicators rely on expert assessments. Although expert assessments are generally understood to be objective, this article suggests raters’ identities may shape their assessments. It specifically examines how national identity shapes democracy ratings. Two data sources—an original survey of experts on Uganda and th…
Replication Data for: International Rewards for Gender Equality Reforms in Autocracies
Harvard Dataverse · 2023-07-27 · 1 citations
datasetOpen access1st authorCorrespondingThis repository contains replication datasets and code; supplementary materials; and a copy of IRB approval. The file "ReadMe" provides a guide to all files included in the Dataverse submission.
The End of Autocratic Norm Adaptation? US Retrenchment and Liberal Norms in Illiberal Regimes
International Organization · 2025-11-20
articleOpen access1st authorAbstract In the post–Cold War era, many authoritarian regimes engaged in strategic liberalization in response to international norms promoted by Western powers. As US support for democracy and human rights recedes, will this retreat prompt a global rollback of liberal reforms? While pessimistic accounts predict a return to overt repression, we argue that liberal norm adaptation within autocracies is likely to prove more resilient. We highlight two sources of continuity. First, autocrats’ domesti…
Recent grants
Frequent coauthors
- 64 shared
Lauren Prather
University of California, San Diego
- 17 shared
Donald P. Green
Columbia University
- 17 shared
Kevin Arceneaux
University of Amsterdam
- 14 shared
Betsy Paluck
Temple College
- 14 shared
Pär Zetterberg
Uppsala University
- 14 shared
Der Straeen
Lynn University
- 13 shared
Johanna Dunaway
- 11 shared
Daniel Rubenson
Cornell University
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