DPI-320M: From Classrooms to War Rooms: Winning (and Decoding) Elections in Developing Countries

This class is a working boot camp for anyone who wants to run, advise, or simply understand campaigns in low- and middle-income countries. This course pulls back the curtain on what it takes to contest—and understand—elections in low- and middle-income democracies. Blending political-economy theory with practitioner stories, we analyze how candidates are recruited, campaigns are financed and managed, voters are persuaded (or pressured), and how social media, clientelism, and global disinformation shape results.