Thiago N. Silva is a Lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations and Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Federalism at the Australian National University. His research focuses on comparative politics, with an emphasis on political institutions and political economy. Thiago's research projects have addressed the dynamics of coalition governments and policy-making processes in presidential and parliamentary democracies, including case studies on democracies with federal systems (e.g., Brazil). In his recent research, Thiago also examines the consequences of coalition governments on voter behaviour and party competition, and the consequences of human rights abuses on democratic breakdown. His work has been published or is forthcoming in the leading political science journals, including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, the European Journal of Political Research, Political Science Research and Methods, Legislative Studies Quarterly, the Sage Handbook of Political Behaviour, and others.