Divided Nations: The Cultural Foundations of Affective Polarisation. British Academy Small Research Grant.
Roula Nezi
Senior Lecturer in Political Science · University of Surrey · Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy · Convenor, ECPR POVB · Co-Editor Political Data Yearbook, PDY
My research examines public opinion & political attitudes · party systems · electoral behaviour · affective polarisation · survey methodology · quantitative methods.
Latest paper · April 2026
Multidimensional representation in the EU multilevel polity: The role of congruence in vote-switching
With Zoe Lefkofridi. Politics and Governance, vol. 14. Why do millions of Europeans back one party at home and another in Brussels? Analysing 24,000 voters across more than 20 European countries, we show that “when people change their vote, it is not because they are confused or disengaged — it is often a way of making sure their voice is properly represented across different political arenas.”
Latest
2024 · Awarded a British Academy Small Research Grant for Divided Nations: The Cultural Foundations of Affective Polarisation.|2025
Background
Before joining Surrey, I was a Senior Researcher at GESIS, and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Konstanz. I completed my undergraduate studies in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Athens, an MA in Political Behaviour at the University of Essex, and my PhD in Voting Behaviour at the University of Athens. During my doctoral studies, I was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Twente (NL) and a Visiting PhD Student at the University of Siena — CIRCAP.
Current research
Surveys and survey experiments. Original data collection on political attitudes, electoral behaviour, and affective polarisation in comparative European perspective.
Service
Co-editor, Political Data Yearbook · Co-host, Political Science Matters podcast
Trustee, UK Political Studies Association
Steering Committee, ECPR Standing Group on Public Opinion and Voting Behaviour
Recent publications
Nezi, R., & Lefkofridi, Z. (2026). Multidimensional representation in the EU multilevel polity: The role of congruence in vote-switching. Politics and Governance, 14.
Germann, M., Mendez, F., Wheatley, J., Djouvas, C., Nezi, R., & Wall, M. (2025). Improving issue representation with candidate-level voting advice applications. European Journal of Political Research, 64(4), 2132–2145.
Nezi, R., & Lefkofridi, Z. (2024). Back to the future: New Democracy’s dominance and the left’s fragmentation in the June 2023 Greek parliamentary election. South European Society & Politics, 29(3), 385–403.
Nezi, R. (2024). A tale of two crises: Affective polarisation in Greece. Frontiers in Political Science.
Awards
PSA Innovation in Quantitative Methods Teaching Prize (2020)
FASS Early Career Teacher of the Year (2020)
In the press
Recent media & podcasts
Latest episode of Political Science Matters, the podcast of the Political Data Yearbook, which I co-host with Raul Gomez.
“When people change their vote, it is not because they are confused or disengaged. It is often a smart way of making sure their voice is properly represented across different political arenas.”
Roula Nezi, in Why millions of Europeans vote one way nationally — and the opposite in Brussels (University of Surrey, May 2026)