Alyssa René Heinze

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. I research gendered understandings of: the political economy of local development, political inequality, and the consequences of climate change. My research is located in the Global South, with a focus on India.

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
Conditionally accepted at American Political Science Review.

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

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

Research in progress

The gender politics of water
Dissertation work.

Women leaders and the environment in the world's largest democracy
With Priyadarshi Amar and Nilesh Shinde

Gendered victimhood: Framing Global South vulnerability in climate policy discourse
With Leonardo Arriola and Allison Grossman

Do peer mentorship groups increase the political agency of first-time female politicians? Experimental evidence from rural India
With Bhumi Purohit, Rachel Brulé, and Ishwari Kale