About

Hello and welcome. I am Rich Frank, a Senior Lecturer and the Research Community Coordinator in the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University. I am a quantitative political scientist, and my work asks why elections turn violent, how we measure electoral integrity, and how political and economic forces shape political violence, human rights abuses, and human trafficking.

My research sits at the intersection of the international political economy of political violence, contentious elections, and human rights. I generate new data to study political outcomes that are hard to measure, including datasets on human trafficking, election violence, and the quality of elections around the world. Recent work includes a meta-analysis of what explains election violence (Journal of Peace Research, 2025), alongside studies of voter turnout, electoral integrity, and the links between migration, remittances, and civil war.

I also care a great deal about how we teach political science. My forthcoming article on undergraduate curriculum design across five democracies (Australian Journal of Political Science) grows out of that interest, as does the teaching I do at the ANU in international political economy, political analysis, and conflict.

Alongside research and teaching, I have led an Australian Research Council Discovery Project on the strategic use of election violence, co-edited the Australian Journal of Political Science, and serve on the editorial board of International Studies Quarterly. Please feel free to look around to learn more about my research, teaching, and service, and do get in touch if you would like a copy of any of my work.