Han, Sung Min

I received my B.A. (2005) and M.A. (2008) degrees in political science from Korea University at Seoul, South Korea. In my M.A. thesis, “Institutional Effect of Mixed Electoral System in Korea,” I worked that the closeness of elections affects the scope of strategic voting in a new democracy. I worked as a researcher at the Asiatic Research Institute in Korea University after I received my M.A. degree. My research interests lie in the area of electoral politics, comparative political economy, democratization and political methodology. In my Ph.D program, I want to work on developing links between theoretical models and empirical evidence in the subfield of electoral politics. In particular, I am especially interested in the question of voter turnout in new democracies. Why do rates of decline in voter turnout in different across countries in the early stages of democratic voting? There is actually significant variation in levels of voter turnout across new democracies after founding elections. I want to develop models that can explain variation – and not just declines – in turnout patterns across new democracies. In my free time, I enjoy hiking and traveling and watching basketball.