Susan Stokes

Susan Stokes is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy. She has authored or coauthored six books on democratic theory, distributive politics, clientelism, political behavior, democratic erosion, and Latin American politics. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is also President-elect of the American Political Science Association and a founding member of Bright Line Watch. Stokes has held leadership roles in APSA and previously chaired the Yale Political Science Department. Her forthcoming book, The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies (2025), examines the global rise of democratic backsliding and offers strategies for resistance and institutional repair. Written for both scholars and general readers, the book combines rigorous social science methods with accessible analysis.