SEONGJOON AHN

(pronounced as sung-june)

Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa.

I specialize in American public opinion and democracy, with a focus on the variations in people's conceptions of democracy and their consequences. My book project, In the Name of Democracy: Composition, Variation, and Measurement of Conceptions of Democracy, investigates in what ways conceptions of democracy differ among Americans and how these differences relate to key political behaviors and attitudes. 

More broadly, I focus on 1) theorizing, developing, and testing new strategies for measuring individual-level conceptions of democracy, 2) integrating the new measurement frameworks into the study of public opinion at the national and subnational levels, and 3) connecting individual-level conceptions of democracy to the study of democratic backsliding.

My research has been generously supported by the Rapoport Family Foundation, Civic Health and Institutions Project, Humane Studies Institute, and multiple scholarships and awards at the University of Illinois, among others.

Prior to joining academia, I worked as an English Editor at the Blue House (The Office of the President of the Republic of Korea), assisting the Chief Secretary of Economic Affairs. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois. I received an M.A. in the Social Sciences (Focus: Political Theory) from the University of Chicago and an M.A. and a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Korea University.