Jefferey Sellers

Tenure Track Appointments

• Associate Professor, University of Southern California, 2005 –
• Associate Researcher, University of Bordeaux, France, 2002 – 2007
• Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, 1999 – 2005

Research, Teaching, Practice, and Clinical Appointments

• Lecturer, Yale University, 1998-1999
• Lecturer, Boston University, 1997-1997
• Research Affiliate, Harvard Center for European Studies, 1997-1999
• Conant Fellow, Harvard Center for European Studies, 1996-1997
• Instructor, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, 1994-1996

Other Employment

• Law Clerk, Judge Roger Robb, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Washington, D.C., 1985-1986

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Professor Sellers’ research interests focus on comparative politics with an emphasis on urban and regional political economy, on multi-level governance, and on environmental law and policy. His research agenda centers around comparative analysis of institutions and state society relations from the “bottom-up” perspective of cities and communities. Initially focused on Europe and North America, this agenda is now global in scope.

One current project analyzes the first systematic international database on local governance institutions and civic organization. Another has organized a global network of researchers into the largest international collaborative study of metropolitan politics and governance. A third project pioneers in the application of remote sensing to compare trajectories of urbanization in China, India and other developing countries. Other recent projects analyze methods for the comparative analysis of subnational variation, and the politics of development in distressed neighborhoods of Los Angeles. His research has been supported by such organizations as the Social Science Research Council, the French National Center for Scientific Research, the French Ministry of Research, the German Academic Exchange Service, United Cities and Local Governments, the Haynes Foundation, the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Research Keywords

Comparative politics,urban and regional political economy, multilevel governance and federalism, state-society relations

Book

• Sellers, J. M., Lidström, A., Bae, Y. (2020). Multilevel Democracy: How Local Institutions and Civil Society Shape the Modern State. Cambridge University Press. (Webpage)
• Sellers, Jefferey M.; Arretche, Marta; Kuebler, Daniel: Razin, Eran (Ed.). (2017). Inequality and Governance in the Metropolis: Regimes of Place Equality and Fiscal Choices in Eleven Countries. Palgrave-MacMillan. (Webpage)
• Stone, C., et, a. (2015). Neighborhoods in a New Era: The Politics of Neighborhood Revitalization in the Post-Industrial City. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
• Sellers, Jefferey M.; Kübler, Daniel; Walter-Rogg, Melanie; and Walks, W. Alan (Ed.). (2013). The Political Ecology of the Metropolis: Metropolitan Sources of Electoral Behavior in Eleven Countries. Essex: ECPR Press.
• Hoffmann-Martinot, V., Sellers, J. M. (2007). Politique et métropole: une comparaison Internationale. Paris: CNRS Editions.
• Hoffmann-Martinot, V., Sellers, J. M. (2005). Metropolitanization and Political Change. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Sellers, J. M. (2002). Governing From Below: Urban Regions and the Global Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Book Chapters

• Sellers, J. M. (2017). Place, Metropolitan Inequality and Governance: A Framework for Comparative Analysis. Inequality and Governance in the Metropolis Palgrave-Macmillan.
• Sellers, J. M., Petroy, E. R., Hondagneu-Messner, S. (2017). Contested Metropolis: Inequality and the Politics of Metropolitan Governance in the United States. Inequality and Governance in the Metropolis Palgrave-MacMillan.
• Razin, E., Sellers, J. M., Arretche, M., Kuebler, D. (2017). Conclusion. Metropolitan Inequality and Governance London: Palgrave-MacMillan.
• Shiau, E., Musso, J., Sellers, J. M. (2015). Neighborhood Connections: The Political Dynamics of Community Revitalization in Los Angeles. In a New Era Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
• Sellers, J. M., Walks, W. A. (2013). The Metropolitanization of Politics: A Comparative Perspective, in Sellers, Jefferey et al. (eds.), The Political Ecology of the Metropolis. Essex: ECPR Press.
• Hoffmann-Martinot, V., Sellers, J. M. (2013). The Emerging Metropolitan Political Ecology of France, in Sellers, Jefferey et al., The Political Ecology of the Metropolis. Essex: ECPR Press.
• Sellers, J. M., Kuebler, D., Walks, W. A., Rochat, P., Walter-Rogg, M. (2013). Conclusion: Metropolitan Political Behavior in Comparative Perspective, in Sellers, Jefferey et al. (eds.), The Political Ecology of the Metropolis. Essex: ECPR Press.
• Sellers, J. M. (2013). Place, Institutions and the Political Ecology of U.S. Metropolitan Areas, in Sellers, Jefferey et al. (eds.), The Political Ecology of the Metropolis. Essex: ECPR Press.
• Lidström, A., Sellers, J. M. (2011). Governance and Redistribution in Metropolitan Areas: A U.S.-Swedish Comparison, in Tassilo Herrschel and Pontus Talberg (eds.), The Role of Regions? (Malmö: Kristianstads Boktryckeri, 2011). pp. 125-146.
• Sellers, J. M. (2010). State-Society Relations, in Mark Bevir (ed.), Sage Handbook of Governance (London: Sage Publications).
• Sellers, J. M. (2008). North America, in United Cities and Local Governments, World Report on Decentralization and Local Democracy. pp. 232-251. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
• Sellers, J. M., Hoffmann-Martinot, V. (2008). Metropolitan Governance, in United Cities and Local Governments, World Report on Decentralization and Local Democracy. pp. 255-279. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
• Sellers, J. M. (2008). Desalination Policy in a Multilevel Regulatory State, in Cesar Nava Escudero, Gerardo Hiriart Le Bert (eds.), Desalaction de agua con energias renovables. pp. 173-188. Mexico City: National Autonomous University of Mexico Press.
• Sellers, J. M. (2007). Unions and the Strategic Context of Local Governance, in L. Turner and D. Cornfield (eds.), Labor in the New Urban Battlegrounds. pp. 35-52. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Hoffmann-Martinot, V., Sellers, J. M. (2005). Metropolitanization and Political Change, in V. Hoffmann-Martinot and J.M. Sellers, Metropolitanization and Political Change. pp. 425-443. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Sellers, J. M., Hoffmann-Martinot, V. (2005). Introduction: Metropolitanization and Political Change, in V. Hoffmann-Martinot and J.M. Sellers (eds.), Metropolitanization and Political Change. pp. 11-14. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Sellers, J. M. (2005). Metropolitanization and Politics in the United States: From Single Model to Multiple Patterns, in V. Hoffman-Martinot and J.M. Sellers, Metropolitanization and Political Change. pp. 53-78. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Hoffmann-Martinot, V., Sellers, J. M. (2005). Conclusion: The Metropolitanization of Politics, in V. Hoffmann-Martinot and J. M. Sellers, Metropoitanization and Political Change. pp. 425-443. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Sellers, J. M. (2005). The Europeanization of a U.S. Metropolitan Area? The Case of Portland, in F. Eckhardt (ed.), The City and the Region. pp. 55-75. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
• Sellers, J. M. (2004). Urbanization and the Social Origins of National Policies Toward Sprawl, in H. Richardson and C.H Bae (eds.), Urban Sprawl in Western Europe and the United States. pp. 195-214. London: Ashgate Publisher.

Essay

• Sellers, J. M. (2011). Transnational Research in the Social Sciences. Washington, DC. National Science Foundation. White Paper
• Sellers, J. M. (2007). Localization and the Future of Policymaking in Europe. Helsinki. Finnish Association of Architects.

Journal Article

• Sellers, J. M., Huang, J., Ramachandra, T. V., Kumar, U. (2019). Understanding the dynamics of urban form: A comparison of Chinese and Indian cases. Landscape and Urban Planning.
• Sellers, J. M. (2018). From Witihin to Between Nations: Subnational Comparison Across Borders. Perspectives on Politics.
• Galimberti, D., Pinson, G., Sellers, J. M. (2017). Métropolisation, intercommunalité et inégalités socio-spatiales. Une approche par la fiscalité, les transferts et la dépense publique. Sociétés contemporaines.
• Huang, J., S., C., Sellers, J. M., X., X. (2017). Measuring the Difference Between Coastal and Inland Urban Agglomerations. Shanghai Urban Planning Review.
• Sellers, J. M. (2016). Urban Governance and Institutions in the Developed and Developing Worlds: Toward a Comparative Historical Perspective. Croatian and Comparative Public Administration. Vol. 16 (3), pp. 459-478. Link to article
• Sellers, J. M. (2013). Trois modèles de gouvernance multiniveau au-delà du clivage État-société. Téléscope. Vol. 19 (1), pp. 62-84. Full text
• Sellers, J. M., Kwak, S. (2010). State and Society in Local Governance: Lessons From a Multilevel Comparison. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. Vol. 35 (3), pp. 620-643. Abstract
• Sellers, J. M. (2007). Urban Governance and Sociolegal Studies: Mapping an Interdisciplinary Frontier. Canadian Journal of Law and Society. Vol. 22 (2), pp. 245-248.
• Sellers, J. M., Lidström, A. (2007). Decentralization, Local Government and the Welfare State. Governance. Vol. 20 (4), pp. 609-632.
• Huang, J., Lu, X. X., Sellers, J. (2007). A Global Comparative Analysis of Urban Form: Applying Remote Sensing and GIS. Landscape and Urban Planning. Vol. 82 (4), pp. 184-197.
• Bae, J., Sellers, J. M. (2007). Globalization, the Developmental State and the Politics of Urban Growth in Korea: A Multilevel Analysis. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. Vol. 31 (3), pp. 543-560.
• Hoffmann-Martinot, V., Sellers, J. M. (2006). L’Observatoire international des métropoles: Pour une comparaison internationale de la gouvernance métropolitaine, in G. Marcou (ed.), Annuaire des collectivités locales. CNRS Editions. pp. 19-30.
• Sellers, J. M. (2005). Re-Placing the Nation: An Agenda for Comparative Urban Politics. Urban Affairs Review. Vol. 40(4), pp. 419-445.
• Sellers, J. M. (2003). Transnational Urban Associations and the State: Contemporary Europe Compared with the Hanseatic League. Yearbook of European Administrative History. Vol. 15, pp. 289-308.
• Sellers, J. M. (2002). The Nation-State and Urban Governance: Toward Multilevel Analysis. Urban Affairs Review. Vol. 37, pp. 611-641.
• Sellers, J. M. (1999). Public Goods and the Politics of Segregation. Journal of Urban Affairs. Vol. 32, pp. 95-112.
• Sellers, J. M. (1998). Place, Post-Industrial Change and the New Left. European Journal of Political Research. Vol. 33(2), pp. 187-217.
• Sellers, J. M. (1996). Norms in the Politics of Housing for Minorities. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 19(3), pp. 585-608.
• Sellers, J. M. (1995). Litigation as a Local Political Resource. Law and Society Review. Vol. 29(3), pp. 475-516.

Grant Report

• Sellers, J. M., Huang, J., Ramachandra, T. V., Kumar, U. (2011). Peri-urban Development and Environmental Sustainability: Cases From China and India. Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research.
• Sellers, J. M., Ohanesian, L., Grossvirt-Dramen, D. (2009). Metropolitan Sources of Electoral Support for Transportation Funding. METRANS.

Technical Report

• Sellers, J. M. (2007). United States Factsheet, World Report on Decentralization and Local Democracy. United Cities and Local Governments.

Working Paper

• Sellers, J. M., Lidström, A. (2014). The Localization of territorial identity: Citizen attachment in an era of globalziation.
• Sellers, J. M.Urban Governance and Institutions in the Developed and Developing Worlds: Toward a Comparative Historical Perspective.
• Wakjira, K., Sellers, J. M.Rapid Urbanization and Inter-jurisdictional governance: The case of Addis Ababa.
• Sellers, J. M., Huang, J., Kumar, U., Ramachandra, T. V.Dynamics of Urban Land Expansion in a Chinese and an Indian Region.
• Huang, J., Sellers, J. M., Lu, X.Chinese Urban Form in the Past Three Decades: Pattern and Process.
• Sellers, J., John, P.Solving the ‘Levels of Analysis Problem’: Scalability and Local Autonomy in Comparative Politics.
• Kitayama, T., Sellers, J. M.Central-Local Logics of Egalitarian Welfare State Development: The Case of Japanese Health Care Policy in Time.

• Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Daniel Elazar Distinguished Scholar Award, American Political Science Association Section on Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations, 2022-2023
• Asia-Pacific Network, National Science Foundation Grant, 2013-2016
• USC Provost’s Undergraduate Research Program, 2004-2014
• USC Fund for Innovative Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2011-2012
• Asia-Pacific Network, National Science Foundation Grant, 2008-2011
• Haynes Foundation Faculty Fellowship, 2010-2011
• Co-founder and co-chair, International Metropolitan Observatory, 2003-2010
• Provost’s Advancing Scholarship in the Social Sciences and Humanities Grant, 2008-2009
• USC Innovative Teaching Award, Student-centered approaches to teaching climate change politics, 2008-2009
• Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization, 2006-2007
• METRANS Faculty Research Grant, 2006-2007
• USC Bedrosian Center Faculty Research Grant, 2006-2007
• USC Provost’s Urban Initiative, 2004-2005
• ACI-Ville Grant, French Ministry of Research, 2001-2005
• USC Raubenheimer Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, Awarded to a junior faculty who shows unusual promise in the areas of research, teaching, and service to the University, 2003
• USC Center for Excellence in Teaching, Faculty Fellow, Center for Excellence in Teaching Fellow, 2001-2002
• USC Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund Award, Toward A Comparative Perspecive on the Politics of Sprawl, 2001-2002
• Haynes Foundation Faculty Research Grant, 2000-2001
• James Bryant Conant Fellow in German and European Studies, Harvard University, 1996-1997
• Social Science Research Council Fellowship, 1990-1991
• German Academic Exchange Service Fellowship, 1989-1990

Committees

• Member, Dornsife College Sustainability Task Force, 2014 –
• Member, Graduate Advisory Committee, POIR PhD Program, 2011 –
• Co-Chair, Graduate Field Committee on Comparative Politics, 2006 –
• Chair, Center for International Studies Research Cluster on Transnational Climate Policy, 2010 – 2014
• Member, College 2020 Project on Climate Change, Executive Committee, 2010 – 2012

Committees

• Member, Executive Committee, Research Committee 5 (Local Government and Politics), International Political Science Association, 2009 –
• Member, Advisory Committee, National Suburban Electoral Survey, 2008 –
• Member, Executive Committee, Urban Politics Section, American Political Science Association, 2014 – 2016
• Chair, Best Book Award Committee, Urban Politics Section, American Political Science Association, 2005-2006

Conferences Organized

• Organizer and chair, Short course on Urbanization and Local Politics in Developing Countries, Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, DC, 2014-2015

Editorships and Editorial Boards

• Editorial Board, Land, 2020 –
• Editorial Board, Urban Affairs Review, 2004 – 2016

Professional Memberships

• International Political Science Association, 2002 –
• Urban Affairs Association, 1999 –
• European Consortium for Political Research, 1996 –
• American Political Science Association, 1994 –