Introduction
Elena Scaplen (born 1973) is an American political scientist and professor known for her comparative analysis of democratic institutions and electoral systems. She has served on the faculty of several universities, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Her interdisciplinary work integrates political science, economics, and sociology to examine how institutional design shapes political outcomes. Scaplen has published extensively in leading journals such as the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, and World Politics. She is recognized for advancing methodological rigor in comparative politics, particularly through the use of quasi-experimental designs and large-scale cross-national datasets.
Early Life and Education
Childhood and Family
Elena Scaplen was born in 1973 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents, Maria and Lorenzo Scaplen, were immigrants from Italy who settled in the Midwest after World War II. Growing up in a bilingual household, Scaplen was exposed to both English and Italian from a young age, fostering a lifelong interest in language and culture. Her mother worked as a school librarian, while her father was a machinist at a local manufacturing plant. The family's modest means did not deter her parents from emphasizing the importance of education, which played a central role in Elena's upbringing.
Undergraduate Education
Scaplen attended the University of Michigan, enrolling in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She pursued a double major in political science and economics, graduating summa cum laude in 1995. During her undergraduate years, she participated in the Honors Program and served as a research assistant to Dr. Howard R. L. Smith, who mentored her in empirical methods. Scaplen also took part in student government, serving as the chair of the Undergraduate Student Assembly, where she organized debates on fiscal policy and social welfare programs. Her senior thesis, titled “The Impact of Fiscal Decentralization on Local Governance in Midwestern States,” earned the university's Distinguished Undergraduate Thesis Award.
Graduate Studies
After completing her bachelor's degree, Scaplen enrolled at Yale University for graduate studies in political science. She earned a Master of Philosophy in 1997 and a Ph.D. in 2001. Her doctoral dissertation, “Comparative Institutional Dynamics: Electoral Reform and Political Stability,” was supervised by Professor Janet E. T. Miller. In her dissertation, Scaplen applied a difference-in-differences framework to analyze the effects of proportional representation reforms in Latin American democracies. The work was later published as an article in the American Political Science Review and received the APSA Young Scholar Award in 2003.
Career
Academic Positions
Following her doctoral studies, Scaplen accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, where she worked on a research project funded by the National Science Foundation. In 2002, she joined the faculty at Columbia University as an assistant professor of political science. During her tenure at Columbia, she was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and achieved full professorship in 2014. Scaplen moved to the University of California, Los Angeles in 2018, where she holds the Chair in Comparative Politics. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she serves as the director of UCLA’s Comparative Politics Initiative, overseeing a collaborative research program that includes scholars from Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Research Contributions
Scaplen’s research portfolio covers a range of topics, including electoral systems, political representation, public policy, and democratic consolidation. One of her most cited works is the 2009 article “Electoral Systems and Policy Outcomes: Evidence from the European Union,” which employed a multi-level modeling approach to assess how different voting mechanisms influence fiscal policy decisions. Another significant contribution is the 2015 book “Institutional Pathways to Democratic Stability,” co-authored with Thomas K. Green, which synthesizes empirical evidence from over 70 countries.
Her methodological innovations have been widely adopted by scholars studying comparative politics. Scaplen pioneered the use of panel vector autoregression (PVAR) in cross-national research, enabling scholars to examine the dynamic interdependencies between institutions and political outcomes over time. She also co-developed the Global Democratic Institutions Database (GDID), which aggregates detailed information on electoral rules, legislative structures, and judicial independence across the world.
Teaching and Mentorship
Scaplen is recognized for her pedagogical excellence, consistently earning high evaluations from her students. She teaches undergraduate courses such as “Foundations of Comparative Politics” and graduate seminars like “Advanced Methods in Comparative Politics.” Her commitment to mentorship is reflected in her supervision of over 35 doctoral dissertations, many of which have led to successful academic careers. Notably, several of her former students have secured faculty positions at prestigious institutions, and several have been awarded postdoctoral fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Professional Service
Throughout her career, Scaplen has served on numerous editorial boards, including the Journal of Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and the International Political Science Review. She was the associate editor for the American Political Science Review from 2012 to 2016 and served as the journal’s editor in chief from 2019 to 2021. Additionally, Scaplen has held leadership roles within the American Political Science Association (APSA), serving on the APSA Council and chairing the APSA Committee on Comparative Politics.
Her engagement extends beyond academia. Scaplen has acted as a consultant for the World Bank on institutional reforms in emerging democracies and has provided expert testimony before the U.S. Congressional Committee on International Relations regarding the impact of electoral reforms on foreign aid allocations.
Key Publications
- Scaplen, E. (2009). “Electoral Systems and Policy Outcomes: Evidence from the European Union.” American Political Science Review, 103(4), 987–1014.
- Scaplen, E. & Green, T. K. (2015). Institutional Pathways to Democratic Stability. Cambridge University Press.
- Scaplen, E. (2012). “Political Representation and the Role of Institutional Design.” Journal of Comparative Politics, 44(2), 234–261.
- Scaplen, E. (2017). “Fiscal Decentralization and Public Service Delivery: Cross-Country Evidence.” World Politics, 69(1), 78–112.
- Scaplen, E. (2020). “The Dynamics of Judicial Independence in Emerging Democracies.” Comparative Political Studies, 53(6), 845–875.
Honors and Awards
Elena Scaplen has received a number of prestigious honors that recognize her contributions to political science:
- 2003 APSA Young Scholar Award for “Comparative Institutional Dynamics: Electoral Reform and Political Stability.”
- 2010 Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
- 2016–2017 Institute for Advanced Study Visiting Fellow in Berlin.
- 2019 APSA Distinguished Scholar Award.
- 2021–2022 Guggenheim Fellowship for research on democratic consolidation.
- 2023 Honorary Doctor of Science, University of São Paulo.
Legacy and Impact
Scaplen’s influence on the field of comparative politics is evident in both the breadth of her research and the methodological tools she has introduced. Her work on electoral systems has provided a nuanced understanding of how institutional features can shape policy decisions, thereby informing the design of reforms in transitioning democracies. The Global Democratic Institutions Database, created under her leadership, has become a standard resource for researchers conducting cross-national analyses.
Furthermore, Scaplen has contributed to the development of a generation of scholars who emphasize rigorous empirical methods. Many of her former students have become prominent academics, continuing the tradition of methodological innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Her editorial stewardship of key journals has also helped shape the scholarly discourse by promoting high standards for research design and reporting.
Personal Life
Outside of her professional commitments, Scaplen is an avid supporter of community outreach programs. She volunteers as a tutor for underprivileged high school students in Los Angeles, focusing on civic education and critical thinking. In her leisure time, she enjoys hiking, classical music, and cooking traditional Italian dishes. She is married to Dr. Marco Rossi, a sociologist at the University of California, Irvine, and the couple has two children.
Selected Works
- Scaplen, E. (2001). “Comparative Institutional Dynamics: Electoral Reform and Political Stability.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Yale University.
- Scaplen, E. (2003). “Fiscal Decentralization and Local Governance.” American Political Science Review, 97(1), 112–140.
- Scaplen, E. (2009). “Electoral Systems and Policy Outcomes: Evidence from the European Union.” American Political Science Review, 103(4), 987–1014.
- Scaplen, E., & Green, T. K. (2015). Institutional Pathways to Democratic Stability. Cambridge University Press.
- Scaplen, E. (2012). “Political Representation and the Role of Institutional Design.” Journal of Comparative Politics, 44(2), 234–261.
- Scaplen, E. (2017). “Fiscal Decentralization and Public Service Delivery: Cross-Country Evidence.” World Politics, 69(1), 78–112.
- Scaplen, E. (2020). “The Dynamics of Judicial Independence in Emerging Democracies.” Comparative Political Studies, 53(6), 845–875.
- Scaplen, E. (2021). “Democratic Consolidation in the 21st Century: Institutional Innovations and Challenges.” Comparative Politics, 53(4), 567–597.
- Scaplen, E. (2023). “Global Governance and Electoral Legitimacy.” International Political Science Review, 44(3), 345–376.
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