“Is the American Public Really Turning Away from Democracy? Backsliding and the Conceptual Challenges of Understanding Public Attitudes. Perspectives on Politics, July 2022 1-12. link
Professor Ahmed's main area of specialization is democratic studies, with a special interest in elections, voting systems, legislative politics, party development, and voting rights. She examines these issues in historical and comparative perspective and her work combines a regional focus on Europe and the United States.
Published Work
“American Political Development in the Mirror of Europe” in Comparative Area Studies:Methodological Rationales and Cross-Regional Applications, Ariel Ahram, Patrick Köllner, and Rudra Sil eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017).
“The Politics of History and the History of Economic Development" Journal of Politics (Jan 2015) 77.1
"Rethinking Backsliding: Insights from the Historical Turn in Democratization Studies". Comparative Democratization Newsletter, Fall 2014.
“Democratization Theory and the Arab Spring" with Giovanni Capoccia, Middle East law and Governance Journal (2014) 6.1: 1-31.
Democracy and the Politics of Electoral System Choice: Engineering Electoral Dominance (Cambridge University Press, 2013) link
"The Existential Threat: Varieties of Socialism and the Origins of Electoral Systems in Early Democracies", Studies in Comparative International Development (June 2013) 48.2: 141-171. PDF
"Revolutionary Blind-Spots: The Politics of Electoral System Choice in the Egyptian Transition" Middle East Law and Governance Journal. 2011. Vol. 3, No. 2.
“Reading History Forward: The Origins of Electoral Systems in Advanced Democracies” Comparative Political Studies Special Issue on The Historical Turn in Democratization Studies. August/September 2010 43: 1059-1088.
In Progress Work
Conflict and Cooperation: Institutional Sequencing, Legislative Politics, and Regime Stability in First Wave Democracies (Book Manuscript)“
“Democratic Backsliding for Whom: The Effects of Framing on Support for an Inclusive Democracy” with Stephanie Chan. (Article Manuscript, In Progress)
“Institutional Sequencing and Regime Stability: Understanding the Reverse Sequence in German Political Development, 1867-1933” with Stephanie Chan (Article Manuscript, Under Review)
“Presidential Campaigns, the Popular Vote, and the Electoral College: Understanding the Discrepancies.” With Gregory Wall (Article Manuscript)
“Political Parties and Democratic Governance” in Placing Parties American Political Development (Invited Article Manuscript, Under Review)
"Lessons from Weimar: The Mobilization of Weimar's History on the Left" (Invited Article Manuscript)
Disaggregating Democracy: A Genealogy of Political Regimes” (Article Manuscript)