Prof. Dr.
Hanspeter
Kriesi
Comparative Political Science
Telephone:
+41 44 634 40 10
hanspeter.kriesi@ipz.uzh.ch
Hanspeter Kriesi is Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich and directs the Swiss national research program on the “Challenges to Democracy in the 21 st Century” (NCCR Democracy). He is a specialist of Swiss direct democracy, but his wide-ranging research interests also include the study of social movements, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, the public sphere and the media. He recently co-edited (together with David Snow and Sarah Soule) The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements (Blackwell Publishing, 2004). His latest book includes Direct Democratic Choice: The Swiss Experience (Lexington Press, 2005).
Research Questions
What elements of an election campaign are decisive to overcome the power of incumbency, and are there strategies that are shared by all successful challengers? What types of new structural conflicts between and within states are caused by the process of globalization? What can popular votes and decision-making processes in Swiss municipalities tell us about social exclusion and xenophobia in Switzerland?