Daniel Tavana
@danieltavana.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Penn State. I work on elections, identity, and political behavior in the Middle East and North Africa.
danieltavana.com
danieltavana.com
It was my great pleasure to celebrate @natalie-letsa.bsky.social's "The Autocratic Voter: Partisanship and Political Socialization under Dictatorship" today at @apsa.bsky.social. Buy, read, and cite this incredibly important book!
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
September 14, 2025 at 3:57 AM
It was my great pleasure to celebrate @natalie-letsa.bsky.social's "The Autocratic Voter: Partisanship and Political Socialization under Dictatorship" today at @apsa.bsky.social. Buy, read, and cite this incredibly important book!
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
What drives this finding? Where governing parties were weaker and less present - which we proxy with turnout in the 2009 legislative election - the effect of exposure to protest on support for opposition-aligned lists was substantially higher.
July 22, 2025 at 10:09 PM
What drives this finding? Where governing parties were weaker and less present - which we proxy with turnout in the 2009 legislative election - the effect of exposure to protest on support for opposition-aligned lists was substantially higher.
We find that the uprising resulted in a 1.9 percentage point increase in support for the opposition - a 17% increase. We rule out the possibility that the effects were driven by district-specific dynamics, pre-uprising differences, and other confounders.
July 22, 2025 at 10:08 PM
We find that the uprising resulted in a 1.9 percentage point increase in support for the opposition - a 17% increase. We rule out the possibility that the effects were driven by district-specific dynamics, pre-uprising differences, and other confounders.
Our data comes from a unique event dataset - collected by CeSSRA - that documents the precise location of all protest events that took place during the uprising. Since 2017, CeSSRA has monitored and documented protest events in each locality throughout the country.
July 22, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Our data comes from a unique event dataset - collected by CeSSRA - that documents the precise location of all protest events that took place during the uprising. Since 2017, CeSSRA has monitored and documented protest events in each locality throughout the country.
New preprint with @cmparreira.bsky.social and Lindsay Walsh posted to @socarxiv.bsky.social: "From Protest to Parliament: Lebanon’s October Revolution and the Rise of Movement Parties." Link: osf.io/preprints/so...
July 22, 2025 at 10:06 PM
New preprint with @cmparreira.bsky.social and Lindsay Walsh posted to @socarxiv.bsky.social: "From Protest to Parliament: Lebanon’s October Revolution and the Rise of Movement Parties." Link: osf.io/preprints/so...
For those interested in fieldwork and research ethics, this is a must-read by @separkinson.bsky.social: "Indiana Jones & the Institutional Review Board: Disciplinary Incentives, Researcher Archetypes & the Pathologies of Knowledge Production." Link: doi.org/10.1162/daed...
May 20, 2025 at 5:15 PM
For those interested in fieldwork and research ethics, this is a must-read by @separkinson.bsky.social: "Indiana Jones & the Institutional Review Board: Disciplinary Incentives, Researcher Archetypes & the Pathologies of Knowledge Production." Link: doi.org/10.1162/daed...
Our article on legislative cooptation and opposition in the Kuwait National Assembly is finally out at @bjpols.bsky.social!
Key findings: bsky.app/profile/dani...
Article link: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Key findings: bsky.app/profile/dani...
Article link: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
May 14, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Our article on legislative cooptation and opposition in the Kuwait National Assembly is finally out at @bjpols.bsky.social!
Key findings: bsky.app/profile/dani...
Article link: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Key findings: bsky.app/profile/dani...
Article link: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Looking forward to presenting Iran-focused survey work at Princeton's Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies next week. Wednesday, 4/16, at 12:30 in Robertson 16. Come if you are around campus!
April 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Looking forward to presenting Iran-focused survey work at Princeton's Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies next week. Wednesday, 4/16, at 12:30 in Robertson 16. Come if you are around campus!
Very excited to welcome Melani Cammett to PSU next week! Join us if you're on campus!
February 27, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Very excited to welcome Melani Cammett to PSU next week! Join us if you're on campus!
To what extent does the argument travel? Since the onset of the third wave, opposition has expanded in authoritarian regimes that hold direct legislative elections - and contracted in those that do not. 11/
February 21, 2025 at 9:39 PM
To what extent does the argument travel? Since the onset of the third wave, opposition has expanded in authoritarian regimes that hold direct legislative elections - and contracted in those that do not. 11/
I show how over time these appeals generated the very oppositional forces the Al-Sabah initially sought to control. An implication of the theory, borne out by recent events, is that oppositions are not always bound to support the authoritarian system from which they emerge. 7/
February 21, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I show how over time these appeals generated the very oppositional forces the Al-Sabah initially sought to control. An implication of the theory, borne out by recent events, is that oppositions are not always bound to support the authoritarian system from which they emerge. 7/
Even just recently, opposition parties, movements, and candidates have succeeded in cases as diverse as Iran, Malaysia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and Zambia. We tend to see these opposition successes as unpredictable shocks, or surprises. But should we? 4/
February 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Even just recently, opposition parties, movements, and candidates have succeeded in cases as diverse as Iran, Malaysia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and Zambia. We tend to see these opposition successes as unpredictable shocks, or surprises. But should we? 4/
How do opposition elites succeed in authoritarian elections? A broad popular and academic consensus holds that elections help dictators stay in power. 2/
February 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
How do opposition elites succeed in authoritarian elections? A broad popular and academic consensus holds that elections help dictators stay in power. 2/
Excited to share my new article in the American Journal of Political Science (@ajpseditor.bsky.social)! "Endogenous Opposition: Identity and Ideology in Kuwaiti Electoral Politics" explores how authoritarian elections generate opposition to incumbent autocrats. Link: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ukrer...
February 21, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Excited to share my new article in the American Journal of Political Science (@ajpseditor.bsky.social)! "Endogenous Opposition: Identity and Ideology in Kuwaiti Electoral Politics" explores how authoritarian elections generate opposition to incumbent autocrats. Link: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ukrer...
Accepted at @bjpols.bsky.social: "Legislative Cooptation in Authoritarian Regimes: Policy Cooperation in the Kuwait National Assembly" with Erin York. A link to the submitted version can be found here: t.co/Iuc1jqxbvM
September 2, 2024 at 7:15 PM
Accepted at @bjpols.bsky.social: "Legislative Cooptation in Authoritarian Regimes: Policy Cooperation in the Kuwait National Assembly" with Erin York. A link to the submitted version can be found here: t.co/Iuc1jqxbvM
First week of classes in the books! This semester, I'm teaching our department's intro methods / research design course. Link to the syllabus for those interested: comments, questions, feedback welcome: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/faqme...
August 31, 2024 at 8:33 PM
First week of classes in the books! This semester, I'm teaching our department's intro methods / research design course. Link to the syllabus for those interested: comments, questions, feedback welcome: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/faqme...
APSA MENA CFA for early-career scholars who would like to participate in a 1-week workshop on identity politics in the MENA region, organized in partnership with the Center for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies at Kuwait University. Details here: t.co/hZLLk0JLF8
August 3, 2024 at 2:56 PM
APSA MENA CFA for early-career scholars who would like to participate in a 1-week workshop on identity politics in the MENA region, organized in partnership with the Center for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies at Kuwait University. Details here: t.co/hZLLk0JLF8
Excited to welcome Penn's @guygrossman.bsky.social to State College this week! Join us Wednesday (4/17) at noon in Pond Lab if you're on campus.
April 15, 2024 at 6:50 PM
Excited to welcome Penn's @guygrossman.bsky.social to State College this week! Join us Wednesday (4/17) at noon in Pond Lab if you're on campus.
Super excited to welcome Dr. Jen Gandhi to the PSU Department of Political Science and State College tomorrow! Please join us in Pond Lab at 12:15 for "Fixing the Past: The Effects of Human Rights Trials on Political Attitudes in Argentina."
January 25, 2024 at 1:22 AM
Super excited to welcome Dr. Jen Gandhi to the PSU Department of Political Science and State College tomorrow! Please join us in Pond Lab at 12:15 for "Fixing the Past: The Effects of Human Rights Trials on Political Attitudes in Argentina."