CHRISTOPHER J. ANDERSON

Christopher J. Anderson is Professor of Government at Cornell University. His research examines the micro-foundations of democracy and political economy, with a focus on issues of legitimacy, welfare states, and inequality in the European Union and the OECD countries. Anderson has written a number of articles and books on such issues as the popularity of democratic governments in Western Europe, the legitimacy of political institutions in old and new democracies around the world, public opinion about European integration, and the link between welfare states and citizen behavior. His most recent books are Losers’ Consent: Elections and Democratic Legitimacy (Oxford University Press; with André Blais, Shaun Bowler, Todd Donovan, and Ola Listhaug), and Democracy, Inequality, and Representation: A Comparative Perspective (Russell Sage Foundation; with Pablo Beramendi). Current research projects examine the dynamics of public opinion about European integration and how welfare states influence people’s attitudes about their lives and politics. In 2008-2011, Anderson will be a team member of the interdisciplinary Theme Project on Persistent Poverty and Upward Mobility organized by Cornell’s Institute for the Social Sciences. He also currently serves as Director of Cornell University’s Institute for European Studies.

A native of Germany, Anderson studied political science at the University of Cologne, Virginia Tech, and Washington University in St.Louis, where he received his PhD. Anderson is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Heinz Eulau Award for the best article published in the American Political Science Review, the Best Article Award from the Journal of Politics, and the Emerging Scholar Award from the APSA Section on Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior. Anderson has served as President of the American Political Science Association’s Section on European Politics and Society, and on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, European Union Politics, and the Journal of Politics. Prior to coming to Cornell, Anderson held permanent or visiting appointments at the University of Cologne (Germany), Rice University, Northwestern University, Binghamton University - SUNY, Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, and the University of Oxford.

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