Keith Dougherty specializes in the institutional design of American politics, both the implications of various political institutions and the motivations behind their creation. His study of the implications utilizes the tools of Social Choice to determine the probability that voting rules, assembly sizes, and quorum requirements adhere to a normative criterion, or sets of criteria, when individual preferences are unknown. His study of the creation of institutions focuses on seminial moments in Amerian history, including the the framers' motivation for adopting the U.S. Constitution and the initial rise of political parties. To support his study, he created the Constitutional Convention Research Group (CCRG), which recovered delegate positions on all substantive votes at the Convention.

Dougherty's research appears in outlets such as Cambridge University Press, the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science and the Journal of Politics.

Teaching Excellence

For his contributions to education, Dougherty has been named a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor -- the University of Georgia's highest recognition for teaching excellence. He has also received the University of Georgia Creative Teaching Award and the Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor Award. He organized the American Founding Group which discusses issues related to early American politics, hosts Constitution Day, and organizes conferences like The American Constitution: a Conference on the 225th Anniversary of the Ratification.

Mailing Address
Department of Political Science
180 Baldwin Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602

Phone (706) 542-2057
Fax  (706) 542-4421
E-mail: [email protected]