Kiran Auerbach is a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Comparative Politics. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen, Norway. She obtained her Ph.D. and M.A. in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her B.A. in international relations from Stanford University.

Kiran’s research interests include comparative democratization, political parties, subnational politics, and corruption. Her work has been published by Party Politics, Political Behavior, and East European Politics and Societies. She has extensive field experience in the Western Balkans and completed the European Regional Master’s Degree in Democracy and Human Rights in South-East Europe at the University of Bologna and the University of Sarajevo.

At IPZ, her research agenda focuses on territorial political divisions. How do rural-urban and center-periphery cleavages shape political discontent and affective polarization? How do politicians and parties respond, and what are the consequences for democratic stability?