Scott Williamson

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Bocconi University. Previously, I was a postdoctoral associate in the Social Science Division at New York University Abu Dhabi. I completed my PhD in political science at Stanford University in 2020.

My primary research agenda focuses on the popular politics of authoritarian regimes, particularly in the Middle East. In my book manuscript, I explore how autocrats delegate decision-making powers to shield themselves from blame for governance failures, and I argue that this blame game affects dynamics of protest, repression, and accountability in these regimes. Other projects study how autocrats use elections and legislatures to reduce domestic pressures for more democratic governance, the factors that influence popular support for democracy and human rights, and attitudes toward foreign aid for autocrats.

I also study the causes of prejudice and strategies for prejudice reduction, focusing on perceptions of migrant communities. This research includes work in Jordan analyzing patterns of support for Syrian refugees, as well as work in the United States assessing interventions to mitigate hostility toward refugees and immigrants. In addition, I have collaborated on projects advocating for new approaches to increase transparency and reduce bias in the publication process.

My work has been published or accepted by academic journals such as the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, the British Journal of Political Science, Political Analysis, and International Studies Quarterly, as well as by outlets such as the Washington Post, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Project on Middle East Democracy, and the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Previously, I worked in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, studied Arabic as a CASA fellow at the American University in Cairo, and completed my BA at Indiana University. I have conducted fieldwork, Arabic language training, and survey research in Jordan, Tunisia, and Egypt.