Global Team

V-Dem is an international team effort and one of the largest social science data collection projects on democracy in the world. The Global Team includes our Principal Investigators, Steering Committee, Country Experts, Project Managers, Staff and Scholars and the V-Dem Institute, Regional Managers, Country Coordinators, and many more.

Principal Investigators

The Principal Investigator Board is the highest decision-making body. The Principal investigators began their work in 2008.

Michael Coppedge
University of Notre Dame
coppedge.1@nd.edu
Democracy, Dimensions, & Diffusion; Latin America.
Professor of Political Science and Faculty Fellow, Kellogg Institute for International Studies University of Notre Dame
John Gerring
University of Texas
jgerring@austin.utexas.edu
Democracy & Development, Research Design.
Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Austin
Carl Henrik Knutsen
University of Oslo
c.h.knutsen@stv.uio.no
Historical Data, Regimes.
Professor, University of Oslo Associated Researcher at ESOP, University of Oslo Associated Researcher at CSCW, PRIO
Staffan I. Lindberg
University of Gothenburg
sil@v-dem.net
Democracy, Institutions, Elections; Africa.
Director, V-Dem Institute Professor, Dept. of Political Science, U of Gothenburg Wallenberg Academy Fellow Member, Young Academy of Sweden Member, Board of U of Gothenburg
Jan Teorell
University of Stockholm
jan.teorell@statsvet.su.se
Democratization, Democracy, the Executive; Europe; Historical Data.
Professor of Political Science Stockholm University

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee was created in 2015 for the purposes of overall guidance and decision-making connected to the various V-Dem programs and projects.

Michael Coppedge
University of Notre Dame
coppedge.1@nd.edu
John Gerring
University of Texas
jgerring@austin.utexas.edu
Garry Hindle
University of Gothenburg
garry.hindle@v-dem.net
Carl Henrik Knutsen
University of Oslo
c.h.knutsen@stv.uio.no
Staffan I. Lindberg
University of Gothenburg
sil@v-dem.net
Dan Pemstein
NDSU
daniel.pemstein@ndsu.edu
Jan Teorell
University of Stockholm
jan.teorell@statsvet.su.se
Ann Towns
University of Gothenburg
ann.towns@gu.se

Project Managers

The Project Managers were instrumental in the development of survey questions and the preparation of the collection of data in specific substantive areas. The diverse specialization of the team and the division of labor enabled us to define concepts, identify existing data sources, and create survey questions that reflect the wide-ranging work and accumulated knowledge on these topics. It also created a decentralized system of informal consultation among experts (academics and practitioners) in these areas. In addition, Project Managers are responsible for assuring cross-country equivalence for their indicators, so that a given question is not interpreted differently in varying country contexts.

David Altman
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
daltman@uc.cl
Direct Democracy
Michael Bernhard
University of Florida
bernhard@ufl.edu
Civil Society and Sovereignty
Michael Coppedge
University of Notre Dame
coppedge.1@nd.edu
Media
Steven Fish
University of California, Berkeley
sfish@berkeley.edu
Legislatures
John Gerring
University of Texas
jgerring@austin.utexas.edu
Political Equality
Adam Glynn
Emory University
adam.glynn@emory.edu
Methodology
Allen Hicken
University of Michigan
ahicken@umich.edu
Parties and Party Systems
Katrin Kinzelbach
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
katrin.kinzelbach@fau.de
Civic and Academic Space
Carl Henrik Knutsen
University of Oslo
c.h.knutsen@stv.uio.no
Historical Data
Staffan I. Lindberg
University of Gothenburg
sil@v-dem.net
Elections
Patrik Lindenfors
University of Stockholm
patrik.lindenfors@zoologi.su.se
Evolutionary theory and Democratization
Kyle Marquardt
HSE
kyle.marquardt@v-dem.net
Measurement Methods
Kelly McMann
Case Western Reserve University
kelly.mcmann@case.edu
Subnational Governments
Richard Morgan
Research Associate V-Dem Institute
Prediction Modelling
Pamela Paxton
University of Texas
ppaxton@prc.utexas.edu
Formal and Descriptive Representation
Daniel Pemstein
North Dakota State University
daniel.pemstein@ndsu.edu
Measurement Methods
Rachel Sigman
Postgraduate Naval School
rlsigman@nps.edu
Exclusion and State Capacity
Svend-Erik Skaaning
Aalborg University
skaaning@ps.au.dk
Civil Liberty
Jeffrey Staton
Emory University
jeffrey.staton@emory.edu
Judiciary
Jan Teorell
Stockholm University
jan.teorell@svet.lu.se
Executives
Steven Wilson
Brandeis University
steven.wilson@v-dem.net
Computational Infrastructure
Brigitte Zimmerman
University of North Carolina
bazimm@gmail.com
Experiments

Regional Managers

Regional Managers are responsible for identifying possible Country Experts and investigating problems of validity at the regional level. The first Regional Managers were recruited in the fall of 2011. Some of the Regional Managers have launched Regional Centers and you can read more about their work here.

Africa

Olugbemiga Samuel Afolabi
Obafemi Awolowo University
afolabiolugbemiga@yahoo.ca
Anglophone Central & Eastern Africa.
Assistant Professor of Political Science Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria
Richard Asante
University of Ghana
richasagh@yahoo.com
Anglophone West Africa.
Senior Research Fellow and Head of Department, History and Politics Unit, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon
Njekwa Mate
University of Zambia
nmateza@yahoo.co.uk
Southern Africa.
Head/Lecturer The University of Zambia School of Humanities and Social Sciences Political and Administrative Studies Department Lusaka, Zambia
Daniel G. Ogbaharya
Western Illinois University
dg-ogbaharya@wiu.edu
Horn of Africa.
Instructor, Western Illinois University
Clemence Pinaud
UC Berkeley
clem.pinaud@gmail.com
Sudan and South Sudan.
Fulbright fellow and visiting scholar, Center for African Studies of UC Berkeley
Solofo Randrianja
University of Toamasina
solalao@hotmail.com
Madagascar.
Fulbright fellow and visiting scholar, Center for African Studies of UC Berkeley
Abdoul Karim Saidou
University Thomas Sankara
akarims40@yahoo.fr
Francophone West Africa.
Professor of political science at University Thomas Sankara Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Carlos Shenga
University Joaquim Chissano
cshenga@cpgd.org.mz
Lusophone Africa.
Associate Professor
Founder, Centre for Research on Governance and Development (CPGD

Americas

José Antonio Aguilar Rivera
CIDE
joseantonio.aguilar@cide.edu
Mexico.
Professor of Political Science División de Estudios Políticos, CIDE
Cynthia Barrow Giles
UWI
barrowgiles@gmail.com
Carribean.
Senior Lecturer, Political Science Dept of Gov't Sociology and Social Work, UWI, Cave Hill Campus
Michael Coppedge
University of Notre Dame
coppedge.1@nd.edu
North America.
Professor of Political Science and Faculty Fellow, Kellogg Institute for International Studies University of Notre Dame
Carlos Gervasoni
Torcuato Di Tella University
cgervasoni@utdt.edu
South America.
Associate Professor Department of Political Science & International Relations Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Kate Schuenke Lucien
kschuenk@nd.edu
Haiti.
Director for Haiti and Senior Associate Director for Strategic Planning at the University of Notre Dame’s Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child
Martin Tanaka
mtanaka@iep.org.pe
Andean Countries.
Principal Investigator, Instituto de Estudios Peruanos Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences Pontificia Universidad Católica, Lima, Peru

Asia/Oceania

Nour Awaiss
Lebanon.
Commissioning and Outreach Editor Common Ground News Service Montreal, Canada
Yuko Kasuya
Keio University
ykasuya0@gmail.com
East Asia.
Professor at the Faculty of Law, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
Julio C. Teehankee
De La Salle University
julio.teehankee@dlsu.edu.ph
Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Professor of Political Science and International Studies, International Studies Department, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Kharis Templeman
Stanford University
kharis@stanford.edu
East Asia and Southeast Asia.
Program Manager, Taiwan Democracy Project, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
Medet Tiulegenov
American University of Central Asia
tiulegenov@gmail.com
Central Asia.
Assistant Professor International and Comparative Politics Department American University of Central Asia

Europe

Tiago Fernandes
University Institute of Lisbon
tiago.luis.fernandes@iscte-iul.pt
Southern Europe.
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Policy Iscte- Instituto Universitario de Lisboa, Portugal
Shpetim Gashi
shpetim.gashi@gmail.com
Balkans.
Vice President Council for Inclusive Governance
Sokol Lleshi
University of New York Tirana
sokollleshi@unyt.edu.al
Eastern Europe.
Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of New York Tirana, Albania
Vello Pettai
University of Tartu
vello.pettai@ut.ee
Baltics.
Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Tartu, Estonia
Iryna Solonenko
European University Viadrina
iryna.solonenko@gmail.com
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
DAAD/OSF Scholar, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder, Germany

MENA

Abdalhadi Alijla
a.ijla@daad-alumni.de
Gulf.
Co-Leader of Global Migration and Human Rights at Global Young Academy, co-founder of Palestine Young Academy in 2020
Hind Arroub
hindarroub1@gmail.com
North Africa.
Founder and Director of the think tank "Hypatia of Alexandria Institute for Reflexion and Studies", Ph.D in Law and Political Science, Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco
Dina Kiwan
American University of Beirut
dk32@aub.edu.lb
MENA.
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut