Amanda B. Edgell

Amanda B. Edgell is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kentucky and a Research Associate for the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute. She received her PhD from the University of Florida and an MA from the Bush School at Texas A&M University. She directs the Comparative Political Regimes Lab, which uses a co-authored mentorship model to train graduate students and junior scholars.  

Her research and teaching focus on comparative politics, particularly comparative political institutions, with a specialization in authoritarianism and regime transformation. Her work examines how domestic institutions and actors interact with international pressures to shape regime dynamics. She is a co-author of Democracy in Trouble: Democratic Resilience and Breakdown from 1900 to 2022 (Cambridge Elements, 2025) and co-editor of Why Democracies Develop and Decline (Cambridge, 2021). Her work has also appeared in Political Research Quarterly, PS: Political Science & Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and the Journal of Peace Research. 

A native of North Carolina, Dr. Edgell completed her undergraduate degree at Appalachian State University, where she was a first-generation college graduate. During her free time, she enjoys rock climbing and hiking with her two dogs.