Rate My Professor Heather Tafel

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.