DAMIEN BOL
Sciences Po Paris
CEVIPOF
I'm a Professor at CEVIPOF, Sciences Po Paris. Before that, I was a (tenured) Professor in the Department of Political Economy of King's College London. I'm a political scientist by training, but I frequently collaborate with economists trying to bridge the two disciplines. Political scientists would say that I'm a rational choice analyst, but economists would say that I'm a behaviorist.
My research explores how people experience representative democracy, both from a micro and comparative perspective. I'm especially interested in citizens' attitudes toward democratic values and institutions, including electoral systems and deliberative assemblies. I’ve also worked on more classic topics like political parties, voting, and the like. Methodologically, I rely heavily on experiments and surveys, often conducted in Belgium, Canada, France, and the UK, which are my main countries of expertise. I also sometimes write about how to improve these methods, too.
Outside of research, I enjoy helping build academic communities. I currently direct the French Electoral Studies Network (REEF, Réseau d’Études Électorales en France), which brings together about 100 researchers from around a dozen or so universities with the goal to coordinate data collection efforts across institutions and discplines for the upcoming electoral cycle in France.
SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS
(for a full list, see here)
Research & Politics 12(2): 1–9 (with Pierre-Henri Bono).
(2023) Choosing an Electoral Rule: Values and Self-Interest in the Lab.
Journal of Economic Psychology 95: 102602 (with André Blais, Maxime Coulombe, Jean-François Laslier, and Jean-Benoit Pilet).
(2023) Public Support for Citizens' Assemblies Selected through Sortition: Evidence from 15 Countries.
European Journal of Political Research 62(3): 873–902 (with Jean-Benoit Pilet, Davide Vittori, and Emilien Paulis).
SELECTED OLDER PUBLICATIONS
(for a full list, see here)
(2021) Estimating Humanity’s Attitudes About Democracy and Political Leaders: Patterns and Trends.
Public Opinion Quarterly 85(4): 957–986 (with Christopher J. Anderson and Aurelia Ananda).
(2021) The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Political Support: Some Good News for Democracy?
European Journal of Political Research 60(2): 497–505 (with Marco Giani, André Blais, and Peter J. Loewen).
(2019) Electoral Rules, Strategic Entry, and Polarization.
Journal of Public Economics 178: 104065 (with Konstantinos Matakos, Orestis Troupounis, and Dimitrios Xefteris).