Rate My Professor Heather Tafel

Heather Tafel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Grand Valley State University, serving as Director of the International Relations Program. She first joined the faculty as a visiting instructor in 2003 and transitioned to a tenure-track position in 2004. Tafel earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005. Prior to that, she received a B.A. with High Honors in International Studies and Modern Languages, focusing on German and Spanish, from Eckerd College in 1993. Her international experiences are extensive, including a Fulbright scholarship to study in Halle, eastern Germany, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship in Innsbruck, Austria, a Peace Corps internship in Lesotho, southern Africa, and multiple research trips to Russia funded by grants from the University of Illinois, American Councils for International Education, and Grand Valley State University.

Tafel's academic interests center on comparative democratization, Russian and post-communist European politics, democracy promotion, and, more recently, U.S. media depictions of Russia. Her dissertation addressed Russian regime change and federalism, and she continues to explore how federal and party institutions operate in Russia. Collaborating with Professor Erika King, she is working on a book manuscript titled U.S. Media Portrayals of Post-Soviet Russian Leaders: Rendering Politics after Communism. Her peer-reviewed publications include "Regime Change and the Federal Gamble: Negotiating Federal Institutions in Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and Spain," published in Publius: The Journal of Federalism in 2011; "Old Carrots and New Sticks: Labor Strategies Toward Economic Reform in Eastern Europe and Latin America," co-authored with Dexter S. Boniface in Comparative Politics in 2003; and book reviews in International Studies Review (2014) and Publius: The Journal of Federalism (2013). Tafel was awarded a Pew Teaching Excellence Award, has led efforts in AP Comparative Politics exam readings, manages departmental social media, and serves as a faculty partner for the Student Success Network.