Bridgewater College professor authors book on Latin American elections, voters

Dr. Kevin M. Pallister, Associate Professor of Political Science at Bridgewater College, authored a new book, Elections in Latin America: Campaigns, Voters, and Institutions, which was published this month by Rowman & Littlefield.

Written for a non-specialist reader, the book examines elections in 18 Latin American countries through case studies of significant modern elections and thematic chapters on electoral integrity, electoral systems, political parties, candidates, campaign financing and voter participation across the region. Included are also topics with relevance beyond Latin America such as vote buying, electoral violence, gender quotas and fake news.

“There are lots of scholarly works on Latin American elections, but this is the first that synthesizes the topic for undergraduate students,” Pallister said.

Pallister is an expert in election administration, political campaigns and voter behavior in Latin America. His current research investigates how political campaigns in Latin America deliver their messages on social media vs. traditional media. He maintains an active presence discussing such topics on X/Twitter: @LatAmerElection.

Pallister earned a Ph.D. in political science from University of Massachusetts Amherst and teaches courses in American, Latin American and comparative politics at Bridgewater College, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2016.

Founded in 1880, Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college in the Central Shenandoah Valley and home to approximately 1,450 students. The college offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and minors and four graduate programs housed within three distinct schools.