Paul A. Atwell

My work largely explores the intersection of identity and social psychology to understand electoral politics, public opinion, and social change in sub-Saharan Africa.

I am a post doctoral researcher at the Juan March Institute since Fall 2023. I will be an Assistant Professor in Political Science at The Ohio State University starting Fall 2025.

In my work I am passionate about joining methods and insights from across disciplines to answer thorny, but important questions about how state and party organizations interact with social institutions to shape individual thinking and behavior around political and economic decisions. My work on these topics has been published in the American Economic Review and the American Journal of Political Science.

My broader interests include development policy, collective action dynamics, political geography, social network analysis, and more. 

I previously completed a B.S. in Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked as a Research Assistant at the Navarra Center for International Development (University of Navarra, Spain).