Joseph Siegle, Senior Research Scholar at the School of Public Policy, is an expert on the political economy of democratic transitions. His background encompasses more than 20 years of experience combining field work from some 25 countries, academic research, and contemporary foreign policy analysis. Dr. Siegle's expertise focuses on the processes of democratization and their implications for economic development, post-conflict reconstruction, and understanding the role of independent media in advancing social and economic progress. A central theme of his work is the imperative of integrating democracy promotion, development assistance, and security stabilization strategies. His recently published co-authored book, The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace (Routledge) and Foreign Affairs article, “Why Democracies Excel,” have been frequently referenced in the contemporary debate over the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy. Dr. Siegle has also contributed articles to leading policy journals and newspapers including Foreign Affairs , Harvard International Review , Georgetown Journal for International Affairs, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Newsweek International, Wall Street Journal, and The International Herald Tribune.

Dr. Siegle was the Douglas Dillon Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2001-2004. Prior to this, he worked with the international NGO, World Vision, in a wide range of conflict and post-conflict settings as well as conventional development programs. In this capacity, he applied his expertise on how emergency response operations can be used to build capacity in vulnerable societies. He was World Vision's country director in Eritrea from 1995-1997 integrating initiatives from various sectors (e.g. health, agriculture, enterprise development, environment, and civil society) in regionally-focused programs. Dr. Siegle was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia focusing on aquaculture in the mid 1980s. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland 's School of Public Policy with a concentration in International Security and Economic Policy. His dissertation, Democratization and Economic Growth: The Contribution of Accountability Institutions was nominated as the best doctoral thesis of the year to the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. He earned his Master's Degree, in Agricultural Economics, from Michigan State University.