David Waldner

daw4h@virginia.edu Phone: 434-924-6931

My teaching and research begin with investigation into the causes of different forms of state formation and the consequences of variations in state-building trajectories for economic development and democratization. Although I began my professional career as a specialist in Middle East politics, my current work includes material from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, as well. My empirical work raises questions about theory and method, questions that I explore in courses and papers about theories of comparative politics, qualitative methods, and the philosophy of science. My first book is State Building and Late Development. My two current book projects are Democracy and Dictatorship in the Post-Colonial World and The Philosophy of Social Science Methods. Recent papers include “Anti Anti-Determinism,” “On the Non-Institutional Origins of the Institutional Origins of Capitalism,” and “Inferences and Explanations at the K/T Boundary… and Beyond.” I regularly teach three graduate seminars: Qualitative Methods, Political Development, and Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship. For undergraduates, I teach Introduction to Comparative Politicss, Theories of Democracy and Dictatorship, and the Distinguished Majors Seminar.