Personal profile

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I am an Assistant Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where I develop my VENI project (2025-2029) on how ethnic norms impact citizens' (il)liberal democratic attitudes. In 2024–2025, I was a Ramón Areces Fellow and Visiting Scholar at the Center of European Studies in Harvard University. I am affiliated with Harvard's Weatherhead Research Cluster on Identity Politics.

I specialize in comparative politics, electoral behavior, representation, and public opinion. I co-direct the electoral prediction market Predilect and co-lead WG1 at COST Action LGBTI+ Social and Economic (in)equalities (CA19103). Previously, I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Zurich.


My research focuses on two key and interconnected challenges that modern democracies face: identity-based polarization and the erosion of socioculturally liberal attitudes, particularly concerning LGBTQ+ rights in relation to liberal democracy. I have also specialized in understanding the discrimination patterns against LGBTQ+ and other minority political candidates within the European context. My methodological expertise is in quantitative techniques, with a specific emphasis on experimental survey methods.

Some of my research has been published in Nature Human Behaviour, Science Advances, American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, and Political Behavior, among other outlets. My work has also been featured in The New York Times and The Guardian, and I’ve occasionally contributed opinion pieces to El País.
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Keywords

  • J Political Science
  • Comparative Politics
  • Political Psychology
  • LGBTQ+ politics
  • Political Behaviour
  • Political Communication

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