Dr Thalia Gerzso
Lecturer

Profile

Biography

Thalia Gerzso joined the Department of Politics and International Relations in 2024. Her research primarily focuses on political institutions (with a focus on judiciary, legislature, and legal systems) and African politics. More specifically, Thalia’s research investigates how political actors can manipulate the legal and constitutional framework to achieve their preferred political outcome. Her research appears in Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, and Electoral Studies and has been supported by the United States Institute of Peace and the American Political Science Association, among others. Her article on judicial resistance also received the Alexander L. George Best Article Award from the American Political Science Association.

Prior to joining the Department of Politics and International Relations, Thalia held a postdoctoral fellowship at the London School of Economics. Thalia holds a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University, an LL.M from Cornell Law School and a Master in international law from Université Paris 2 Panthéon Assas. Admitted to the New York Bar, Thalia worked as a lawyer and human rights advocate prior to starting her career in academia.

Personal website: www.thaliagerzso.com

Research

Overview

Thalia Gerzso’s research agenda seeks to understand formal institutions' role in democratic processes. More specifically, her research agenda aims to

1. identify the type of institutions incumbents use to remain in power
2. understand why incumbents choose to weaponize one institution instead of another
3. identify the conditions under which these institutions strengthen - or weaken - the ruling regime

Thalia has a regional focus on Africa and relies on a wide array of methodological tools, such as quantitative analysis of micro-level data, process tracing, and comparative historical analysis. Thalia currently has two major streams of research that explore these questions. First, she examines how judicial institutions can facilitate—or hinder—democratic processes. The second stream of research seeks to identify the lawfare strategies incumbents weaponize to remain in power and why they prioritise specific sets of institutions.

Available PhD research projects

• African politics
• Democratic processes (democratization, democratic backsliding)
• Political institutions (legislatures, judiciaries)

Publications

Selected publications

• Gerzso, Thalia. "A Two-Headed Creature: Bicameralism in African Autocracies." Comparative Politics 56.4 (2024): 495-515.
• Gerzso, Thalia, and Rachel Beatty Riedl. "The Potential of Mixed Methods for Qualitative Research." Doing Good Qualitative Research (2024): 72.
• Gerzso, Thalia. "Judicial resistance during electoral disputes: Evidence from Kenya." Electoral Studies 85 (2023): 102653.
• Gloppen, Siri, Thalia Gerzso, and Nicolas van de Walle. "Constitutional, Administrative, Judicial, and Discursive Lawfare." Democratic Backsliding in Africa? (2023): 5
• Gerzso, Thalia, and Nicolas van de Walle. "The politics of legislative expansion in Africa." Comparative Political Studies 55.14 (2022): 2315-2348.

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Research Design

Postgraduate

• Research Design for PhD students