Research Projects In-Progress

Dissertation Project

Strangers, Bedfellows, or Strange Bedfellows?: Business-Government Relations beyond Cronyism

   How do private firms influence autocratic governments? Most research emphasizes the

importance of personal connections between business executives/owners and autocratic leaders. What is less understood is how some firms manage to remain apolitical and influential, even where connections are critical for the firm’s survival and financial performance. I argue that

nonconnected firms with structural power — characterized by their employment, export, R&D

capacity, and capital mobility — wield significant political influence, particularly during

macroeconomic crises and when they are not in direct competition with politically connected

businesses. To test my theory, I use quantitative and qualitative evidence from Türkiye, as well 1

as Russia and Malaysia – three authoritarian regimes with varying dependence on

macroeconomic performance as a source of social legitimacy. My initial findings confirm that

business influence extends beyond connections even in contexts with widespread cronyism.

May - September 2023 - Research project entitled "Westgate Commons Park Summer Research Project" 

(Research assistant to Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at UMN & Saint Anthony Park Community Council)

January - July 2022 - Research project entitled "Charismatic Leaders and Democratic Backsliding" 

(Research assistant to James Hollyer, Marko Klašnja, Rocío Titiunik)

2018 - 2019 - Research project entitled ”The New Politics of Welfare” (ERC-funded) 

(Principle investigator: Erdem Yoruk, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey)