Welcome

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. I am affiliated with the Munk School's Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and Global Migration Lab.

Before coming to Toronto, I was a Max Weber Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the European University Institute. I received my PhD in Politics and Social Policy from Princeton University in 2013. This degree came from the Department of Politics and the School of Public and International Affairs' Social Policy Joint Degree Program, an interdisciplinary program combining courses and workshops in politics, economics, psychology, and sociology. I obtained a Master's degree in Political Science at Fordham University (2008) with a focus on International and Comparative Politics.

My research applies a variety of methods to important questions in comparative politics, with an emphasis on the intersection between broad social structures, public opinion, and political behavior. I am especially interested in how individual and group interests interact to shape political attitudes such as support for the welfare state. Understanding this requires understanding how people form their identities, and how intermediate level social categories shape their perception of group and individual interests. Much of my work, therefore, is about studying these social categories and measuring the their characteristics.

I have taught on a wide array of topics in comparative politics, public policy, and quantitative methods. In the future, I will teach classes in comparative political behavior, the politics of social policy, the politics and policy of immigration, and survey design and analysis. For more detailed descriptions of my research and teaching, see the links on the top-right of this page.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

MDonnelly