Fields of Interest:

American Politics, US Congress and State Legislatures, Research Methodology

Education: PhD, University of Virginia

Mackenzie Dobson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research examines bipartisan collaboration, legislative effectiveness, and political representation in American legislatures. She studies how legislators build relationships across party lines, how those relationships shape policymaking and legislative success, and what these dynamics mean for democratic representation.

Her published work appears in outlets such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, State Politics & Policy Quarterly, and PS: Political Science & Politics.

She received her PhD from the University of Virginia. She is a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for Effective Lawmaking (University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University) and a Non-Resident Research Affiliate at the Portman Center for Policy Solutions (University of Cincinnati).

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