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Udi Sommer, Israel Institute Visiting Professor, Political Science Department, Columbia University of New York

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Personal

· Date and Place of Birth: December 28, 1974; Jerusalem, Israel

· Nationality: Israeli

· Personal Status: Married, dual-career family, 3 children (14.5 years; 11.5 years; 8 years)

Academic Positions

· Columbia University, Department of Political Science

Israel Institute Visiting Professor – 2016 – Present

· Tel Aviv University, Department of Political Science

Tenured Senior Faculty (American Associate Professor; early tenure and promotion), Fall 2013 – Present

· Israeli Young Academy of Sciences

Member, 2015 – Present

Executive Council, 2017 - Present

· Tel Aviv University, The Blavatnik Multidisciplinary Center for Cyber Research

Member, Scientific Committee, 2015 – Present

· Tel Aviv University, Department of Political Science

Lecturer (American Assistant Professor - tenure track), Fall 2010 – Fall 2013

· University at Albany: State University of New York, Department of Political Science

Assistant Professor (tenure track), Fall 2007 – Spring 2010

Refereed Journals (>20 articles in peer-reviewed journals)

· “Women, Demography and Politics: How Lower Fertility Rates Lead to Democracy”. 2018. Demography

· “Explaining the Birthright Citizenship Lottery: Longitudinal and Cross-National Evidence for Key Determinants”. Forthcoming 2018. Regulation & Governance (with Omer Solodoch)

· “Political and Legal Antecedents of Affirmative Action: A Comparative Framework” 2018. Journal of Public Policy (with Victor Asal)

· “An Impediment to Gender Equality?: Religion’s Influence on Development and Reproductive Policy” 2018. World Development (with Aliza Forman Rabinovici)

· “Ideological Influences on Governance and Regulation:The Comparative Case of Supreme Courts” 2017 Regulation & Governance (with Keren Weinshall-Margel and Yaacov Ritov)

· “Reproductive Policy Makers: Comparative Analyses of the Influences of International and Domestic Institutions on Reproductive Rights” 2018. Public Administration (with Aliza Forman Rabinovici)

· “Rainbows for Rights: The Role of LGBT Activism in Gay Rights Promotion” 2018. Societies without Borders (with Victor Asal and Amanda Murdie)

· “International Effects on the Security Wall Rulings of the Israeli High Court” 2017. Israel Studies Review

· “Translating Justice: The International Organization of Constitutional Courts” 2016. Law & Policy (with Olga Frishman)

· “Setting the Agenda of the United States Supreme Court? Organized Interests and the Decision to File an Amicus Curiae Brief at Cert”. 2015. Justice System Journal (with Katherine Zuber and Jonathan Parent)

· “Institutional Paths to Policy Change”. 2013. Law and Society Review, 47(1): 409-39 (with Victor Asal, Katherine Zuber and Jonathan Parent)

· “Original Sin:A Cross National Study of the Legality of Homosexual Acts”. 2013. Comparative Political Studies, 46(3): 320-51 (with Victor Asal and Paul Harwood)

Findings covered on Foreign Policy Blog-and-Annual Review of Law & Social Science

· “Petitioners’ Role in Strategic Auditing: IsCertiorari Contingent on Litigant Behavior?” 2013. The Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 10(1): 54-75 (with Maxwell Mak and Andrew Sidman)

· “Globalization, Threat and Religious Freedom”. 2013. Political Studies (with Gizem Arikan and Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom)

· “Representative Appointments: The Effect of Women’s Groups in Contentious Supreme Court Confirmations.” 2013. Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, 34(1) Lead Article

· “Setting a Supreme Agenda: Opinion Minded Justices and the Decision on Certiorari.” 2011. Rationality and Society 23(4): 452-77

· “Judicial Decision Making in Times of Financial Crises: State Supreme Courts and Mortgage Moratorium Laws in the Great Depression.” 2011. Judicature 95(2): 68-77 (with Quan Li)

· "Can Faith Limit Immorality? The Politics of Religion and Corruption". 2012. Democratization (with Gizem Arikan and Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom)

· “A Cross-National Analysis of the Guarantees of Rights”. 2012 The International Political Science Review (with Victor Asal)

· “Crusades Against Corruption and Institutionally Induced Strategies in the Israeli Supreme Court” Israel Affairs 15(3), 2009

· “Extreme Dissensus: Why Plurality Opinions Happen on the US Supreme Court” Justice System Journal 31(2), 2010 (with Pamela Corley, Art Ward and Amy Steigerwalt)

· “Beyond Defensive Denials: Evidence from the Blackmun Files for a Broader Scope of Strategic Certiorari.” 2010. Justice System Journal 31(3): 316-41

· “A Strategic Court and National Security: Comparative Lessons from the Israeli Case.” Israel Studies Forum 25(2), 2010

Books

· Legal Path Dependence and the Long Arm of the Religious State: Sodomy Provisions and Gay Rights Across Nations and Over Time (SUNY Press 2016) (with Victor Asal)

· A Supreme Agenda: Strategic Case Selection on the US Supreme Court (2014 Palgrave-MacMillan)

· Home but Away: The Experience of Immigrant Parents (2010 Hebrew version received extensive media coverage, with its findings reported in The New York Post, Ynet, Haaretz, Israeli TV Channels 2 & 10 and Kol Yisrael, among many other outlets)

Conference Participation, Organizer, and Talks (>55 presentations in international venues)

2018 –

· The Israeli Supreme Court at a Moment Of Transition (Columbia University, NY)

· European Young Academy Meeting (Amsterdam)

2017 -

· Israeli Cyber Forum at Columbia University hosting Dr. Eviatar Matanya Sep. 14-15 (Columbia University, NY) – Organizer

· Israeli Cyber Forum at Columbia University Scientific Workshop Oct. 18-19 (Columbia University, NY) – Organizer

· International Studies Association (Baltimore)

· Talks at MIT, UPenn, Hunter College, Temple University

2016 –

· Election Forecasting: The 2016 US Presidential Elections (Tel Aviv University) – international workshop predicting Trump’s victory in the general elections in May 2016, even before the Republican nomination was sealed – Organizer

· Conference on Empirical Legal Studies in Europe (Amsterdam)

· Midwest Political Science Association Meeting (Chicago)

2015 –

· Empirical Legal Studies Conference (Hebrew U)

· Invited talks at Fudan University (Shanghai)

· Global Young Academy (Amsterdam)

· Global Young Academy (Stockholm)

· European Political Science Association Meeting (Vienna)

2014 –

Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (Berkeley)

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans)

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)

International Association for Constitutional Law Meeting (Oslo)

Irish Political Science Association Meeting (Galway)

2013 –

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)

Hebrew University School of Law – Constitutional Law Seminar

European Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Barcelona)

Association for Israel Studies (Los Angeles)

Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (Milano)

2012 –

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans)

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans)

European Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Berlin)

Hebrew University, workshop for beginning scholars (Jerusalem, Israel)

2011 –

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans)

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Seattle, WA)

International Society for Political Psychology Annual Meeting (Istanbul, Turkey)

European Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Dublin, Ireland)

Hebrew University, workshop for beginning scholars (Jerusalem, Israel)

Invited talk – University at Albany, Rockefeller College, Albany NY (April 2011)

2010 -

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Atlanta)

Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (San Francisco)

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Washington, DC)

Invited talk – IDC Herzliya, Israel (December 2010)

2009 -

Northeastern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Philadelphia, PA)

2008 -

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston MA)

Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago IL)

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans LA)

Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (San Diego CA)

Law and Society Association Annual Meeting (Montréal)

ISA-West Annual Meeting (San Francisco CA)

2007 -

· Association for Israel Studies (Ra’annana Israel)

· Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago IL)

· Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Las Vegas NV)

· Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans LA)

· Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans LA)

· Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans LA)

2006 -

· American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Philadelphia PA)

· Southern Political Science Association (Atlanta GA)

· Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference (Chicago, IL)

· Association of Israel Studies Annual Meeting (Banff, Alberta)

2005 -

· Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meting (Chicago, IL)

· Taub Center, New York University, December 2, 2005

· Hebrew University, Jerusalem, December 28, 2005

Scholarships, Honors and Awards

· Blavatnik Cyber Security Research Grant 2017-9 ($80,000)

· Israel Institute Fellowship at Columbia University 2016-8 ($178,000)

· Provost’s List of Top 100 Outstanding Professors, Tel Aviv University, 2015

· Marie Curie Grant, the European Research Council, 2011-2015, (€100,000)

· Provost’s List of Top 100 Outstanding Professors, Tel Aviv University, 2014

· Martin Edelman Award for Outstanding Teaching, University at Albany, 2010 ($500)

· University at Albany: SUNY Research Awards Program, 2008-2009 ($9,637)

· NSF Doctoral Dissertation Grant, 2007-2008 ($11,900)

· Fulbright Grant for Doctoral Students, 2003-2005 ($25,000)

· Stony Brook Foundation, Summer Research Grant, 2004 ($5,000)

· Fulbright Professional Enhancement Grant, 2004

· Full tuition scholarship, Stony Brook University, 2003-07 ($40,000)

· Financial aid Fellowship, Stony Brook University, 2003-07 ($48,000)

· Full tuition scholarship, Hebrew University, 1996-99 ($14,000)

· Financial aid Fellowship, Hebrew University, 1996-99 ($3,000)

· Dean’s List, Hebrew University, 1996, 1997, 1998.

· The ‘Payis’ Award for Young Artists, 2002 ($1,500)

Other Work Experience

· Project Director, Tel Aviv University, Summer Youth University Project. The project promotes political, social and educational goals, for 50 high-potential high school students of lower socioeconomic status. Project was under the aegis of the President of Tel Aviv University Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, 2001-2003.

· Project Initiator and Director, the ‘Dor Shalom’ (Generation for Peace) Movement. An outreach Project for Jews of Ethiopian Origin in Israel - Eighty-five new Ethiopian immigrants participated in the project, 1999.

· Psychotherapist – Community Center for Mental Patients, Jaffa, Abarbanel Mental Institution, Bat Yam - Psychotherapy with mental patients, 1998-2002

Other Refereed Work

· “RemoteParticipants” In Tal, D. “Israeli Identities: Between East and West.” London: Routledge (2013) with Michal Ben Zvi Sommer

Book Reviews

· Review of Vanessa Baird’s “Answering the Call of he Court: How Justices and Litigants Set the Supreme Court Agenda” Law and Society Review 42(2), 2008 (May): 439-441

· Review of Paul Collins’ “Friends of the Supreme Court.” Law and Society Review 43(4), 2009 (December): 943-945

Reviewer

American National Science Foundation (reviewer and invited panelist), Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, Law and Society Review, Comparative Politics, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, European Journal of International Relations, Political Research Quarterly, Law & Policy, American Politics Research, International Political Science Review, Political Psychology, Sociological Focus, Politica, Justice System Journal

Political Research Quarterly’s 2011 Outstanding Reviewer Award

Teaching

· Department of Political Science, Columbia University, 2016 – present

· International Masters Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Tel Aviv University, 2011 – present

· International Masters Program in Security and Diplomacy, Tel Aviv University, 2011 – present

· International Masters Program in Political Science, Leadership and Communication, Tel Aviv University, 2011 – present

· Political Science Dept., Tel Aviv University, 2010 – present

· Political Science Dept., University at Albany: State University of New York, 2007-10

· Political Science Dept., Stony Brook University, 2005-7

Prizes, Scholarships and Grants by my Graduate Students

Gad Yacobi scholarship, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fellowship, Raffa and Paula Atlas Endowment Fund scholarship, The Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) exploratory research grant, Tali Gordon Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Mirella Haggiag Research Grant

PhD Dissertation Committee Chair or Member: Jonathan Parent (University at Albany: State University of New York); Katie Zuber (University at Albany: State University of New York); Kimberley Fletcher (University at Albany: State University of New York); Aliza Forman-Rabinovici (Tel Aviv U); Avinadav Shalev (Tel Aviv U); Gil Baram (Tel Aviv U); Lior Yoffe (Tel Aviv U); Sharon Elhadad (Tel Aviv U)

MA Thesis Adviser: Romanos Kefalidis (Tel Aviv U); Seher Dongel (Tel Aviv U); Yulia Gurelik (Tel Aviv U); Sharon Alon (Tel Aviv U); Alexandru Bar (Tel Aviv U); Inke Kavantera (Tel Aviv U); Armando Murillo (Tel Aviv U); Suzanna Christiansen (Tel Aviv U); Leah Croughan (Tel Aviv U); Clareta Treger (second reader; Tel Aviv U); Brooklin Nash (Tel Aviv U); Lev Topor (Tel Aviv U); Simone Lehman (Tel Aviv U); Dor Gosher (Tel Aviv U); Simon Luling (Tel Aviv U); Danny Kommel (Tel Aviv U); Omer Solodoch (Tel Aviv U); Efrat Lachter (Tel Aviv U); David Jensen-Lopez (Tel Aviv U); Fred Hockney (Tel Aviv U); Roi Shafrir (Tel Aviv U); Steven Ronak (Tel Aviv U)

Courses Taught

Doctoral – Survey Class in Comparative Politics; Survey Class in Public Law; Math for Political Scientists; Advanced Judicial Decision Making Seminar; Advanced Political Methodology; Introduction to the Discipline of Political Science

Masters - Intermediate Statistics for Public Policy; Research Methods in Comparative Politics and International Relations; Israeli Politics; Israeli-Arab Conflict; US Foreign Policy

Undergraduate – Israeli Politics, Introduction to Comparative Politics; American Supreme Court; Constitutional Law and Politics: USA; Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Research Methods

Media

YouTube Channel

Expert commentator and op-eds on WKGO San Francisco, Israeli TV Channels 1, 2, 10 & 20, Christian Science Monitor, Haaretz.com (English), ynet.co.il, Haaretz newspaper, Galatz Israeli Radio and Knesset TV Channel.

Research Interests

Comparative Public Law, Politics of Gender and Sexuality, Judicial politics, Israeli Politics, US-Israel Relations, Constitutionalism, Cyber

Professional Affiliations

American, European, Midwest, Southern and Western Political Science Associations

Literary Publications

· Trucks (Forthcoming), volume of poetry published by Emda/Carmel Publishers

· Order of the Acts of Love, volume of poetry published by Emda/Bittan Publishers, Tel Aviv, 2002.

· Published short stories and poetry in Ha’aretz, Maariv, Yedioth Aharonoth, Iton 77’, Moznayim, Gag, Mitan, Shvo, Emda, and Helicon.

Languages

• Hebrew – mother tongue
• English – fluent reading, writing and speaking
• Spanish; French – basic speaking and reading

References – upon request

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Udi Sommer

Israel Institute Visiting Professor

Department of Political Science

Columbia University of New York

New York, NY 10027

(917)6226009

Member, Israel Young Academy of Science

Member, Scientific Council, Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Tel Aviv University

Twitter: @oudee

YouTube Channel

Linkedin: il.linkedin.com/in/udisommer

TAU website: people.socsci.tau.ac.il/mu/udis/

es3511@columbia.edu