Yonatan Morse

Associate Professor

Political Science

Dr. Morse researches issues related to political development, with a specific focus on the African continent and the topics of democratization, legislative empowerment, and social policy. He is the author of How Autocrats Compete (Cambridge University Press, 2019), which examines the growth of electoral authoritarian regimes in modern-day Africa and the role of ruling parties and international actors in perpetuating such regimes. Between 2020 and 2022 he was an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, during which he developed a project titled Discovering Welfare: The Politics of Social Protection in Africa (Forthcoming). The project combines cross-national analysis with in-depth case studies to explore how historical legacies and democratic politics influence the provision of pensions, health insurance, and social assistance. Dr. Morse is also a coordinator of the African Legislative Project, and has conducted extensive research on the legislature in Cameroon. His work has been published in several academic journals that include World Politics, Comparative Politics, Democratization, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Qualitative Research, Government & Opposition, and the International Political Science Review. Prior to arriving at UCONN, Dr. Morse was the Associate Director of the Democracy & Governance program at Georgetown University. He has been a consultant for various outlets that assess democracy such as Freedom House and V-DEM, has provided expert testimony on human rights in Cameroon, and has contributed to media outlets such as the Washington Post. More information can be found at his website.

Dr. Morse is the political science coordinator at the Stamford campus. Please email him with any questions.

Select Articles: 

• “The Legislature as Political Control: Change and Continuity in Cameroon’s National Assembly, 1973-2019” The Journal of Modern African Studies 59, 1 (2021)
• “Pathways to Power in an Authoritarian Regime: Civil Service, Multipartyism, and Legislative Selection in Cameroon” Government and Opposition FirstView (2021)
• “Rebuilding, Rebranding, and Competitive Landscapes: A Set Theoretic Analysis of Authoritarian Successor Parties” Democratization 27, 8 (2020)
• “Elite Interviews in the Developing World: Finding Anchors in Informal Settings” Qualitative Research 19, 3 (2019)
• “Presidential Power and Democratization by Elections in Africa” Democratization 25, 8 (2018)
• “Electoral Authoritarianism and Weak States in Africa: Parties vs. Presidents in Tanzania and Cameroon” International Political Science Review 38, 1 (2018)
• “From Single-Parties to Electoral Authoritarian Regimes: Party Capacity and the Sources of Electoral Hegemony and Competitiveness in Post-Cold War Africa” Comparative Politics 48, 1 (2015)
• “Party Matters: The Institutional Origins of Tanzania’s Competitive Hegemony” Democratization 21, 4 (2014)
• “The Era of Electoral Authoritarianism” World Politics 64, 1 (2012)