Who governs? This is one of the most fundamental questions in political science. Despite its importance, there is currently no global dataset on governing elites over a long period. This article presents a novel dataset, WhoGov, which contains yearly data on members of cabinets in 177 countries during the period 1966-2016, making it the largest of its kind. We first present how the dataset was created and validate it by matching this data against existing data.

The following seminars will be given at 2pm on Wednesdays via Zoom. For more information on how to sign up and attend the seminar, please visit our website https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/calendar.
Convenor: Meera Selva

We use administrative electoral data at the polling station level from the 2018 general election in Pakistan to study the impact of separate gender polling stations on voter turnout. We find that being assigned to a separate gender polling station reduces turnout of both men and women, compared to their counterparts in mixed-gender polling stations. The absolute magnitude of the impact is higher for women.

Transitional Leadership Insights from The United Nations: Youssef Mahmoud,

The following seminars will be given at 2pm on Wednesdays via Zoom. For more information on how to sign up and attend the seminar, please visit our website https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/calendar.
Convenor: Meera Selva

Terrorism is increasingly a problem across Africa, but as yet little work has sought to investigate its political effects. Studies in Europe and the US suggest that terrorist attacks can increase social and political trust, improve satisfaction with government, and may raise turnout. But it is unclear whether we should expect these findings to hold in a context where political institutions are often fragile, and where political violence is frequent. We investigate this question in Nigeria, where terrorism has been widespread and increasing over the past decade.

Discussant: Josh Goldstein (Oxford)

Transitional Leadership Insights from Afghanistan: Dr. Sima Samar,
State Minister for Human Rights and International Affairs; former Chairperson of the Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission; Vice President of the Interim Administration and Minister of Women’s Affairs in 2001-2002, during which she established Afghanistan’s first Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

The following seminars will be given at 2pm on Wednesdays via Zoom. For more information on how to sign up and attend the seminar, please visit our website https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/calendar.
Convenor: Meera Selva

How does exposure to violence shape political behavior? Does criminal violence push citizens to participate more or less in politics? These questions are becoming more and more important as crime rates rise in many parts of the developing world, but especially in Latin America. We argue that exposure to criminal violence, rather than generating anger or fear, perpetuates political cynicism. As crime increases, citizens update their perceptions of the state's capacity and willingness to protect them -- reducing the stakes of political competition.