Professor Bob Mattes

Politics

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).

Expertise

Has expertise in:

    Survey Research

    Comparative Politics

    African Politics

    South African Politics

    United States Politics

Prizes and awards

Visiting Research Scholar, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies
Recipient
9/2016
Academy of Science of South Africa
Recipient
2014
Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Recipient
4/2011
STIAS Fellow. Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study
Recipient
7/2010
Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, National Endowment for Democracy
Recipient
2005
Principal's International Scholar Award. Queen's University
Recipient
2005

More prizes and awards

Publications

Political parties and democracy in South Africa
Mattes Robert, Krönke Matthias, Lockwood Sarah Jane
Political Parties and the Crisis of Democracy (2023) (2023)
Lived Poverty Resurgent : COVID-19 Restrictions Feed Economic Contraction to Drive Down Living Standards in Africa
Mattes Robert, Patel Jaynisha
Afrobaromater Policy Paper Afrobaromater Policy Paper, No. 84 (2022)
Economic vulnerability and poor service delivery made it more difficult for shack-dwellers to comply with COVID-19 restrictions
Ellison George TH, Mattes Robert B, Rhoma Hanan, de Wet Thea
South African Journal of Science Vol 118, pp. 1-15 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2022/13301
Economic vulnerability and poor service delivery made it more difficult for shack-dwellers to comply with COVID-19 restrictions : the impracticability and inequitable burden of universal/unstratified public health policies
Ellison GTH, Mattes RB, Rhoma H, Wet T De
(2022)
https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.07.22273499
Mapping State Capacity in Africa : Professionalism and Reach
Krönke Matthias, Mattes Robert, Naidoo Vinothan
Afrobarometer Working Papers Afrobarometer Working Papers, No. 190 (2022)
Party structures and organization building in Africa
Lockwood Sarah J, Krönke Matthias, Mattes Robert
Party Politics Vol 28, pp. 203-207 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688211041038

More publications

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