Contact Information

Phone: 802.443.5528

Email: jteets@middlebury.edu

Department Address

Department of Political Science

318 Munroe Hall Middlebury, VT 05753

Education

University of Colorado, Boulder
PhD Political Science 2009
MA Political Science 2004

University of Chicago
MA International Relations 1998

University of Maryland
BA Government and Politics 1997
BA Chinese Studies 1997

Dissertation Research

"Effective Governance in Non-Democracies: The Role of Informal Civil Society in Increasing Pluralism and Accountability in Local Public Policy." successfully defended December 2008.

This research seeks to answer the puzzle of how non-democracies achieve good governance without formal channels of interest articulation and electoral mechanisms of accountability. I argue that civil society groups use informal and personal channels to access the policy-making process. While use of these channels increases pluralism and accountability leading to more effective governance, the informal and personal nature of these channels means that they cannot distinguish easily between groups with private versus public interests. Therefore, while these channels improve governance in non-democracies, they also can lead to the promotion of private interests through the public policy process. Through the use of a cross-national dataset and field work at four sites in China, I provide evidence that social groups do influence the policy process and governance outcomes. The 100 interviews, statistical and archive research I completed in 2006-2007, with support from a NSF grant, indicated that in China social groups increase pluralism in the policy-making process and accountability among local officials, which is similar to the outcomes documented by Robert Putnam and others in democracies. The institutional conditions of non-democracies--lack of transparency and formal institutional channels for accessing the policy process--amplify the role played by these groups. Therefore, this research is vital for understanding the mechanisms by which social groups encourage good governance across all regimes, not just liberal democracies.

Publications

Teets, Jessica. “Book Review: Pranab Bardhan and Dilip Mookherjee’s Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing Countries." Journal of Chinese Politics 13. March 2008.

Lewis, Orion and Jessica Teets. "Chinese Nationalism 1949-1980."Nations and Nationalism in Global Perspective: An Encyclopedia of Origins, Development, and Contemporary Transition." ABC-CLIO. June 2008.

Teets, Jessica. "Post-Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Efforts: The Emergence of Civil Society in China?" The China Quarterly 198. June 2009: 330-347.

Chenoweth, Erica and Jessica Teets. “To Bribe or Bomb: An Empirical Analysis into the Relationship between Corruption and Terrorism.” Corruption, Global Security, and World Order. Robert I. Rotberg, ed. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution Press. 2009.

Lewis, Orion and Jessica Teets. “A China Model? Understanding the Evolution of a “Socialist Market Economy.” Glasshouse Forum, 2009.

Teets, Jessica, Stanley Rosen, and Peter Hays Gries. ““Political Change, Contestation and Pluralization in China Today.” Chinese Politics: State, Society and the Market. Peter Gries and Stanley Rosen, eds. New York: RoutledgeCurzon. 2010.

Current Projects

Teets, Jessica. Teets, Jessica. "Varying State-Society Relationships in Authoritarian Regimes: A Relational Model of Civil Society and the Regulatory State in China.” Currently under review at World Politics.

Leblang, David, Jennifer Fitzgerald, and Jessica Teets. “Defying the Law of Gravity: The Political Economy of International Migration."

Teets, Jessica. Civil Society without Democracy: Political Participation in Hybrid Regimes. Book Manuscript.

Research Grants

National Science Foundation - $12,000
Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
September 2007-August 2008

Boulder, Colorado

University of Colorado - $1000
Language Immersion Summer Grant
June 2006-August 2006

Beijing, China

University of Colorado - $3000
Language Immersion Summer Grant
June 2005-August 2005

Beijing, China

United Government of Graduate Students - $1000
Conference Travel Grant

Boulder, Colorado

University of Colorado - $6,000
Research Fellowship
January 2004-May 2004

Boulder, Colorado

Employment

Middlebury College
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
July 2009 - present

Middlebury, Vermont

University of Colorado, Boulder
Instructor for Chinese Politics, Department of Political Science
September 2008 - December 2008

Boulder, Colorado

University of Colorado, Boulder
Instructor for Chinese Politics, Department of Political Science
September 2007 - December 2007
Instructor for Global Development, Department of Political Science January 2008 - May 2008

Boulder, Colorado

Peking University, School of International Studies
Visiting Fellow
September 2006 - June 2007

Beijing, China

University of Colorado, Boulder
Instructor for Global Development, Department of Political Science
September 2005 - May 2006

Boulder, Colorado

University of Colorado, Boulder
Teaching Assistant for Political Theory, Department of Political Science
TA for Comparative Politics, Department of Political Science
TA for International Relations, Department of Political Science
Research Assistant for David Leblang, Department of Political Science
September 2002 - August 2005

Boulder, Colorado

Corporate Executive Board
Acting Director, Corporate Strategy Board
Associate Director, Corporate Strategy Board
July 2001 - August 2002

Washington, D.C.

Corporate Executive Board
Senior Research Manager, Corporate Strategy Board
Research Manager, Corporate Strategy Board
September 2000 - June 2001

Washington, D.C.

Corporate Executive Board
Senior Research Associate, Corporate Strategy Board
Research Associate, Corporate Leadership Council
July 1999 - August 2000

Washington, D.C.

Department of Justice, Antitrust Division
Research Specialist and Paralegal
July 1998 - July 1999

Washington, D.C.

CNA Insurance and Marvin Zonis Associates
Political Risk Analyst - Poland and Czech Republic
November 1997 - May 1998

Chicago, Illinois

Awards

Association of Chinese Political Studies
Doctoral Student Best Paper Prize, 2008

Springfield, Missouri

Midwest Political Science Association
Nomination for best graduate student paper, 2004

Chicago, Illinois

University of Colorado
Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, 2004

Boulder, Colorado

Corporate Executive Board
Manager of the Year award, 2002

Washington, D.C.

University of Maryland
Phi Beta Kappa, 1997

College Park, Maryland

Invited Talks

"Governance Reforms in China." Program for Teaching East Asia. China Summer Institute. July 2008.

“Democracy in China." Guest Panelist on PBS series Vote for Me. Denver, Colorado. 2007.

“Constructivist Explanations for Conflict." Guest Lecture at Peking University. 2006

Teaching Interests

Comparative Politics: Chinese Politics, Global Development, Introduction to Comparative Politics

International Relations: International Political Economy, Introduction to International Relations, Constructivist Approach to Nuclear Proliferation

Political Theory: Western Political Thought, Theories of Democracy

Selected Conference Presentations

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago IL (April 2008), "Improving Governance in China: The Role of Civil Society in Local Public Policy."

Peking University’s Center for International & Strategic Studies, Beijing and Dandong (June 2007), Roundtable on “Nuclear North Korea, Security Dynamics and Regional Transition in the Future."

Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago IL (April 2006), “Social Networks and Autocracies: How Social Groups Affect The Pattern of Government Expenditures."

International Studies Association, San Diego CA (March 2006), “Social Networks and Public Goods: How the Type of Network Affects The Pattern of Government Expenditures."

Association for Asian Studies Western Regional Conference, Denver CO (September 2005), “Using the Back Door: Origins of Informal Finance in Chinese Local Government."

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago IL (April 2004), “The Institutional and Social Origins of Corruption in China and Indonesia."

Western Political Science Association Annual Conference, Portland, OR (March 2004), “Constraining U.S. Policy: Adherence to International Norms." written with Erica Chenoweth.