Alyssa René Heinze

PhD Candidate
Political Science
UC Berkeley
alyssa.heinze@berkeley.edu

Curriculum Vitae

I’m a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and a Research Associate at the Center on the Politics of Development.

Publications

Heinze, Alyssa R., Brulé, Rachel and Simon Chauchard. 2025. "Who actually governs? Gender inequality and political representation in rural India." The Journal of Politics. 87(2).

Working papers

Democratic deepening or elite persistence? How local elites adapt to electoral reform in rural India.
Formerly titled: Empowering the local executive: When electoral reform disrupts elite coalitions
Winner of the 2024 Paula D. McClain Award for the MPSA Best Paper
Winner of the 2024 MPSA Evan Ringquist Field Award for best paper on the topic of political institutions.
Winner of the Philo Sherman Bennett Prize in Political Science
Honorable mention, Center for the Study of Law and Society Paper Prize
Forthcoming at American Political Science Review.
Pre-analysis plan. Populated PAP.

Inclusive reforms as levers for social exclusion: The paradoxical consequences of quotas for women in rural India
With Rachel Brulé and Simon Chauchard
Forthcoming at World Development.

Why discussion rules matter for representation: Experimental evidence from rural India
With Rachel Brulé and Simon Chauchard

Feminized victimhood: The political consequences of Global South vulnerability in climate policy discourse
With Leonardo Arriola and Allison Grossman
Pre-analysis plan. Populated PAP.