Eric Raile, Assistant Visiting Professor

Multilateral Processes
Dr. Raile has served as an expert for the U.S. government in international processes related to corruption prevention and public ethics. This work has been conducted under the auspices of multilateral organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations. His research has also been presented to the World Bank.

Reviewing
Dr. Raile has reviewed manuscripts for prestigious academic journals such as American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

News Media
Dr. Raile has contributed to news media stories in outlets such as USA Today, ABC News, Real Clear Politics, and Congressional Quarterly/Roll Call.

Research & Publications

Research Agenda:  The overarching focus for my research program is the examination of ways to improve governance through enhanced accountability. Governments can operate in ways that are more or less responsive to certain constituencies and in ways that are more or less transparent, free of conflicting interests, and effective. Thus far, my research has followed three related and overlapping lines:  political and public will, organizational and institutional mechanisms, and dealing effectively with public perceptions.

The research line on political and public will has taken two tracks. The first has focused on the exchange mechanisms in the Brazilian national government used to build political support for government initiatives, including examination of the institutional incentives for corruption. Ongoing work considers such mechanisms in multiparty presidencies more broadly. A second track has focused on building a framework for political and public will that facilitates systematic analysis of these concepts and their interactions.  

The research line on organizational and institutional mechanisms for accountability has focused primarily on the areas of ethical climate, codes of ethical conduct, and financial disclosure systems in the public sector.

The applied goal of the research line on public perceptions is for governments to address perceived sources of insecurity more effectively and in a more accountable manner. This research builds on the concept of human security and in particular on how populations view both assets and vulnerabilities. Ongoing work focuses on mass perceptions of phenomena like corruption and globalization.