معرفی
Denise Traber is an Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the Department of Social Sciences (Departement Gesellschaftswissenschaften) within the Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Her academic career includes roles as a senior research fellow at the University of Lucerne, senior researcher at the University of Zurich, and visiting researcher at the London School of Economics. She specializes in party competition, political behavior, and the impact of economic inequality on political dynamics, particularly in Western Europe.
Her research focuses on the interplay between societal/economic changes and political decision-making, including studies on class identity politics, environmental policy discourse, and direct democracy mechanisms. She leads projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), including Class Identity Politics (CHF 984,135) and Swiss Direct Democracy in the 21st Century (CHF 2,304,464). Traber is also a quantitative methods expert, co-organizing the Summer School for Women in Political Methodology.
Her scholarly awards include the 2018 Gordon Smith and Vincent Wright Memorial Prize for her work on political representation during economic crises. She has published in journals like West European Politics and Journal of European Public Policy, and her work addresses topics such as polarization, welfare state reform, and gender gaps in political methodology.
- Education:
- Postdoc: Crisis of Democracy? Party Politics and Representation in Times of Austerity (University of Zurich)
- PhD: Hard Choices – Preferences, Trade-offs and Reform Opportunities in Multidimensional Welfare Politics
- Key Projects:
- Class Identity Politics (SNSF-funded, ongoing)
- Swiss Direct Democracy 21 (SNSF-funded, ongoing)
Traber’s research also explores voter signaling, blame-shifting in political speeches during crises, and the role of social status in political priorities. She advises on policy-making processes and has contributed analyses of Swiss national elections and referendums.
