Personal statement
Born and educated in the United States, I spent the past 25 years in South Africa (working at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, and teaching at the University of Cape Town, before coming to Strathclyde.
My research examines the process of democratization, with a particular focus on Africa and South Africa. I am co-founder and Senior Adviser of Afrobarometer, a regular survey of over 30 countries in Africa (www.afrobarometer.org). I am also co-founder and co-Principal Investigator of the African Legislatures Project, a study of legislatures and legislators in 17 countries(www.cssr.uct.ac.za/alp),and the Principal Investigator of the South African National Election Study, a longitudinal series of post-election surveys dating back to 1994 (www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru/sanes).
Research interests
I work on issues of democratization primarlily through the tools of survey research but also employ other methods of institutional analysis. I am co-founder and Senior Adviser of Afrobarometer, a regular survey of public opinion in 35 African countries (www.afrobarometer.org). I am also co-founder and co-Principal Investigator of the African Legislatures Project, a study of legislatures and legislators in 17 countries(www.cssr.uct.ac.za/alp). Finally, I am the founder and Principal Investigator of the South African National Election Study, a longitudinal series of post-election surveys dating back to South AFrica's first democratic election of 1994 (www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru/sanes). These studies are also carried out in association with the Comparative National Elections Project, and Comparative Study of Electoral Systems project.
Professional activities
- Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 19/5/2023
- Democratization (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 27/4/2023
- British Journal of Political Science (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 23/3/2023
- Protest in South Africa and Kenya, Television Interview, Al Jazeera
- Recipient
- 20/3/2023
- External Reviewer, PhD Dissertation, University of Witwatersrand
- Examiner
- 20/3/2023
- Panel Reviewer, South African Research Chairs Initiative
- Recipient
- 24/2/2023
More professional activities
Projects
- Sustainable Development and Citizenship in Africa (SGSSS award)
- Mattes, Robert (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2022 - 28-Jan-2026
- Political Parties in Africa
- Mattes, Robert (Principal Investigator) Seekings, Jeremy (Principal Investigator) Lockwood, Sarah Jane (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2018
- African Legislatures Project
- Mattes, Robert (Principal Investigator) Mozaffar, Shaheen (Principal Investigator) Barkan, Joel (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2008
- Global Barometer Surveys
- Chu, Yun-han (Principal Investigator) Mattes, Robert (Principal Investigator) Lagos, Marta (Principal Investigator) Haerpfer, Christian (Principal Investigator) Tessler, Mark (Principal Investigator) Shastri, Sandeep (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2000
- Afrobarometer
- Mattes, Robert (Principal Investigator) Gyimah-Boadi, E. (Principal Investigator) Bratton, Michael (Principal Investigator) Logan, Carolyn (Co-investigator) Dulani, Boniface (Co-investigator) Mitullah, Winnie (Co-investigator)
- A regular survey of representative samples of citizens in 35 countries across Africa that measures people's well-being, and their preferences, evaluations and experiences with elected leaders and political institutions.
- 14-Jan-1998
- Southern African Migration Programme
- Mattes, Robert (Research Co-investigator) Crush, Jonathan (Principal Investigator) McDonald, David (Principal Investigator)
- The Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP) is an international network of organizations founded in 1996 to promote awareness of migration-development linkages in SADC. SAMP conducts applied research on migration and development issues, provides policy advice and expertise, offers training in migration policy and management, and conducts public education campaigns on migration-related issues.
- 01-Jan-1996
More projects