Welcome! I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Research Fellow at the Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania. I specialize in comparative politics, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

My dissertation research investigates why politicians in Africa have remained unresponsive to citizens in the era of competitive multi party elections. This research has been supported by the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies; as well as the Institute for International Studies and Center for African Studies at UC Berkeley. 

I am also working on a series of research projects on governance and accountability in Africa. These include a field experiment on how the budgetary performance of elected officials affects voting behavior in Kenya, a large network survey of Zambian politicians, and a panel survey of public opinion in Kenya. 

I am a Research Associate at the Center on the Politics of Development, and an African Studies Research Fellow at the Center for African Studies at UC Berkeley.  ​I was also a Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies Fellow (KFAS), John L. Simpson Memorial Fellow, Rocca Fellow, and a Research Affiliate at Kenyatta University, Kenya.

Prior to Berkeley, I worked at the United Nations and served as a military interpreter for United States Forces Korea. I received my M.A. in political science from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. in economics with highest honors from Korea University. You can reach me at dhchoi [at] berkeley [dot] edu.

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