Dr Wolfgang Rudig

Reader

Politics

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Personal statement

My research agenda focuses on the empirical study of political behaviour in a cross-national context.  A major element of my recent research activities is the study of election candidates.  The Representative Audit of Britain project involves surveys of candidates who stood in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 UK General Elections. This is a joint project with Professor Rosie Campbell (King's College London) and Professor Jennifer van Heerde-Hudson (University College London), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The project is part of an international network, the Comparative Candidates Survey (CCS) - www.comparativecandidates.org

A second ESRC-funded project, Out of Touch and Out of Time? A Cross-Temporal and Cross-Level Analysis of the Social and Ideological Distance between UK Voters and Political Elite, seeks to combine all candidate survey data collected in the UK since the 1990s and analyse changes over time. The research group includes Professor Rosie Campbell (KCL), Professor Jennifer van Heerde-Hudson (UCL), Dr Javier Sajuria (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Siim Trumm (University of Nottingham), Dr Sofia Collignon (Royal Holloway University of London) and Dr Neil Matthews (University of Bristol). 

My second major research interest is the study of political protest. Much of my recent work in this area has focused on developments in Greece, in particular the study of anti-austerity protest and its electoral consequences conducted jointly with Professor Georgios Karyotis (University of Glasgow) - www.austeritypolitics.net. Further work on other protest movements in Greece, France and other countries is in preparation.

My third major research area concerns the study of party members, in particular members of green parties.  Following a series of membership surveys conduced since the early 1990s, a further European Green Party Membership (EGPM) survey is planned for 2021/2022.

Finally, I have recently become involved in empirical research on attitudes and behaviour relating to the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the Pandemic Politics research group, www.pandemicpolitics.net, which involves Professor John Connolly (University of the West of Scotland), Professor Georgios Karyotis (University of Glasgow), Dr Andy Judge (University of Glasgow), Dr Sofia Collignon (Royal Holloway University of London) and Dr Dimitris Skleparis (Newcastle University). After completing a first UK-wide survey in the spring of 2020, a second survey is planned in early 2021.

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Publications

How candidates campaign in modern-day general elections
Collignon Sofia, Rüdig Wolfgang
British General Election Campaigns 1830-2019 The 50 General Election Campaigns That Shaped Our Modern Politics (2024) (2024)
Intertwined fates? Members switching between niche and mainstream parties
Collignon Sofia, Rüdig Wolfgang, Lamprinakou Chrysa, Makropoulos Iakovos, Sajuria Javier
Party Politics Vol 29, pp. 840-852 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688221106299
The gendered harassment of parliamentary candidates in the UK
Collignon Sofía, Campbell Rosie, Rüdig Wolfgang
Political Quarterly Vol 93, pp. 32-38 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.13070
What drives support for social distancing? Pandemic politics, securitization, and crisis management in Britain
Karyotis Georgios, Connolly John, Collignon Sofia, Judge Andrew, Makropoulos Iakovos, Rüdig Wolfgang, Skleparis Dimitris
European Political Science Review Vol 13, pp. 467-487 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773921000205
Increasing the cost of female representation? The gendered effects of harassment, abuse and intimidation towards Parliamentary candidates in the UK
Collignon Sofia, Rüdig Wolfgang
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties Vol 31, pp. 429-449 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2021.1968413
Consensus secured? Elite and public attitudes to "lockdown" measures to combat Covid-19 in England
Collignon Sofia, Makropoulos Iakovos, Rüdig Wolfgang
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties Vol 31, pp. 109-121 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2021.1924750

More publications

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Professional Activities

Despite riding high in the polls, a coalition with the CDU/CSU may be the only route for the German Greens to enter government in the 2013 Elections.
Contributor
12/3/2013
British-German Environment Forum: Energy Policy for the 2050s
Participant
7/3/2013
Party Members and Activists in Europe
Member of programme committee
1/12/2011
IPSA/ECPR joint conference
Chair
2/2011
MAPP workshop
Organiser
2/2011
IPSA/ECPR joint conference
Chair
2/2011

More professional activities

Projects

Polarisation and Harassment: A Survey of 2022 Scottish Local Election Candidates (RSE Small Grant)
Rüdig, Wolfgang (Principal Investigator)
01-Mar-2022 - 28-Feb-2023
ORA (Round 5)The Nature of Political Representation in Times of Dealignment
Rüdig, Wolfgang (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2020 - 31-Dec-2020
Out of touch and out of time? UK Voters and Political Elites
Rüdig, Wolfgang (Principal Investigator)
Out of touch and out of time? A Cross-Temporal and Cross-Level Analysis of the Social and Ideological Distance between UK Voters and Political Elites
01-Jun-2018 - 31-Aug-2021
Local Election Candidates in a Devolved Scotland
Rüdig, Wolfgang (Principal Investigator)
01-Jul-2017 - 30-Apr-2018
The Representative Audit of Britain
Rüdig, Wolfgang (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2015 - 31-Aug-2018
Active for peace: A cross-temporal cross-national analysis of peace movement members
Rüdig, Wolfgang (Principal Investigator)
01-Oct-2011 - 30-Apr-2014

More projects

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Contact

Dr Wolfgang Rudig
Reader
Politics

Email: w.rudig@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 2918