معرفی
Prof. Dr. Alexander Trechsel is a Full Professor of Political Science and Political Communication at the University of Lucerne's Department of Political Science within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Born in Bern (CH) in 1971, he holds a PhD in Political Science (with highest distinction) from the University of Geneva (1999). He served as the Swiss Chair in Federalism and Democracy at the European University Institute (2005–2016), including as Head of the Department for Political and Social Sciences (2013–2016). He has also been a Faculty Fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society (2012–2015) and a Faculty Associate there since 2015.
His research focuses on political communication, electoral behavior, European Union politics, democratic innovation, and the role of digital technologies in governance. Key themes include voting advice applications (VAAs), transnational party positioning, e-voting systems, and the democratic deficit in EU institutions. He has led major projects like euandi analyzing EU election dynamics and InDivEU exploring citizen-political system alignment.
Trechsel's work bridges academia and public engagement, emphasizing tools like VAAs to enhance voter decision-making and democratic accountability. His contributions address contemporary challenges in representative democracy, including polarization, electoral participation, and institutional reform across Europe.
He currently holds a permanent faculty position at the University of Lucerne, where he also contributes to programs in Political Sciences and interdisciplinary initiatives like the Lucerne Master in Computational Social Sciences (LUMACSS).
