Anna Grzymała-Busse

Anna Grzymała-Busse is a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, and senior fellow and director of the Europe Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford.

Her research currently focuses on three areas. One project examines the historical development of the state and its transformations: the historical roots of the European state, the role played by emulation and diffusion, and the fragmentation of territorial authority. A second focus is on the patterns of democratic backsliding in post-communist Europe, and the role played by political party competition, local government, nationalist tropes, and the role of religious actors. Third, a new project in development will focus on corruption and its historical roots and contemporary prevalence.

She is the author of four books: “Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Successor Parties”; “Rebuilding Leviathan: Party Competition and State Development in Post-Communist Europe”; “Nations Under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Politics”; and “Sacred Foundations: the Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State.”

Grzymała-Busse is currently the director of the Europe Center at Stanford University, and previously served as the director of the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies and the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia at the University of Michigan. She received her doctorate from Harvard University, her Master of Philosophy from Cambridge University, and her bachelor’s from Princeton University. She is a recipient of the Carnegie and Guggenheim Fellowships, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Affiliations:

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences, member