Professional Summary
My research focuses on two areas. Firstly, I am interested in how technological innovations can disrupt democratic institutions, and secondly, I am interested how activists have organized for influence and taken advantage of this disruption.
Education
PhD: Binghamton University Vestal, NY, 2014 (Political Science)
BA: University of Leeds Leeds, UK, 2007 (History)
Positions and Work Experience
2013 -2014 Researcher, Fordham University, Bronx, NY
2014 -2015 Visiting Assistant Professor, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
2015 -2024 Assistant/Associate Professor, Knox College, Galesburg, IL
2023 -2025 Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
2025 - Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Research Support
Grant: #1851834 Investigators:Ben Farrer, Robert Holahan 2019 -2023 National Science Foundation “Collaborative Research: Technological Shocks and Institutional Effectiveness under Heterogeneous Risk” Role:Principal Investigator $315,331 Completed Type:Grant
Publications
Peer Reviewed Publications
Ben Farrer, Rob Holahan, Tara Riggs, Jonathan Doriscar, Tori Johnson, Lydia Allen, Soleil Smith, and Kellyanne Allen (2024). “How Energy Companies Overcome Landowner Reluctance When Obtaining Land for Hydraulic Fracturing” . Nature: Energy
Ben Farrer (2024). “Political Communication as a Tragedy of the Commons” . Political Science, 72 (2) , 701
Ben Farrer, Linda Doyle, and Soleil Smith. (2023). “Goals, Strategies, and Tactics: The Continuity and Change of Extinction Rebellion in the UK” . Contention, 11 (2) , 29-56
Ben Farrer, and Joshua Zingher (2022). “An Analysis of the Group Bases of British Politics: 1983-2017” . Parliamentary Affairs, 76 (4) , 773
Ben Farrer and Graig Klein (2022). “How Radical Environmental Sabotage Affects US Elections”. Terrorism and Political Violence, 34 (2) , 218
Karen O. Caballero Armendariz, Monica Martinez, and Ben Farrer (2020). “Badge of Courage or Sign of Criminality? Experimental Evidence For How Voters Respond to Candidates Who Were Arrested At A Protest” . Social Science Quarterly, 101 (6) , 2203
Joshua Zingher and Ben Farrer (2019). “A global analysis of how losing an election affects voter satisfaction with democracy”. International Political Science Review , 40 (4) , 518
Joshua Zingher and Ben Farrer (2018). “The Partisan and Demographic Dimensions of Minority Candidate Nominations in Anglophone Democracies” . Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties , 28 (4) , 467
Gwen Arnold, Ben Farrer, and Robert Holahan (2018). “Measuring environmental and economic opinions about hydraulic fracturing: A survey of landowners in active or planned drilling units”. Review of Policy Research , 35 (2) , 258
Gwen Arnold, Ben Farrer, and Robert Holahan (2018). “How Do Landowners Learn About High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing? A Survey of the Eastern Ohio Landowners in Active or Proposed Drilling Units”. Energy Policy, 114 (3) , 455
Ben Farrer, Olga Shvetsova, and Robert Holahan (2017). “Accounting For Heterogeneous Private Risks In The Provision Of Collective Goods: Controversial Compulsory Contracting Institutions In Horizontal Hydrofracturing” . Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization , 133 (1) , 138
Ben Farrer and Graig Klein (2017). “The Political Roots of Environmental Sabotage”. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties , 27 (2) , 133
Joshua Zingher and Ben Farrer (2016). “The Electoral Effects of the Descriptive Representation of Ethnic Minority Groups in Australia and the United Kingdom”. Party Politics, 22 (6) , 691
Donald Green, Jonathan Krasno, Alex Coppock, Ben Farrer, Brandon Lenoir, and Joshua Zingher (2016). “The Effect of Lawn Signs on Vote Outcomes: Results From Four Randomized Field Experiments” . Electoral Studies, 41 (1) , 143
Ben Farrer (2016). “An Experiment Assessing How Different Forms of Utility Inform the Choices of Environmental Activists”. Environment and Behaviour, 48 (7) , 885
Ben Farrer (2015). “Connecting Niche Party Vote Change in First and Second Order Elections”. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties , 25 (4) , 482
Donald Green, Jonathan Krasno, Costas Panagopoulos, Ben Farrer, and Michael Schwam-Baird. (2015). “Encouraging Small Donor Contributions: Field Experiments Testing the Effects of Nonpartisan Messages”. . Journal of Experimental Political Science , 2 (2) , 183
Costas Panagopoulos and Ben Farrer (2014). “Preelection Poll Accuracy and Bias in the 2012 General Elections”. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 44 (2) , 352
Ben Farrer (2014). “A Theory of Organizational Choice: Parties and Interest Groups as Substitutable Influence Mechanisms”. Party Politics, 20 (4) , 632
Published Books
Ben Farrer (2017). Organizing for Policy Influence: Comparing Parties, Interest Groups, and Direct Action. New York, NY, Routledge.