My research studies the transformation of European democracies and explores voters' and parties' reactions to changing socio-economic context conditions. It combines insights from political sociology, political behavior and comparative political economy.
A core question of my research is how new parties such as radical right and Green parties have become established actors in many European democracies and how their success, in turn, has affected patterns of political competition. In several publications, me and my co-authors demonstrate how established parties adjust their programmatic strategies in response to the success of Green or radical right parties.
With a special focus on Social Democratic parties, I also study determinants of mainstream party decline and what can explain why some parties have remained dominant while others have become marginalized.
Since August 2019, I am the principle investigator of a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation that investigates "Social Status and the Transformation of Electoral Behavior in Western Europe". In this project we study how changing social hierarchies affect preferences and political behavior.
A core question of my research is how new parties such as radical right and Green parties have become established actors in many European democracies and how their success, in turn, has affected patterns of political competition. In several publications, me and my co-authors demonstrate how established parties adjust their programmatic strategies in response to the success of Green or radical right parties.
With a special focus on Social Democratic parties, I also study determinants of mainstream party decline and what can explain why some parties have remained dominant while others have become marginalized.
Since August 2019, I am the principle investigator of a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation that investigates "Social Status and the Transformation of Electoral Behavior in Western Europe". In this project we study how changing social hierarchies affect preferences and political behavior.