Eri Bertsou

Eri Bertsou serves as an SNSF Assistant Professor of Comparative Political Behavior at the University of St. Gallen's School of Economics and Political Science (HSG), where she leads the Institute of Political Science research group focused on citizen behavior, political psychology, and empirical democracy research. Her work examines societal challenges to democratic systems including political distrust, populism, democratic backsliding, and climate change.

Her research interests center on political behavior and comparative politics, with particular focus on citizen attitudes toward scientific experts, technocratic governance, trust and distrust in political systems, populism, and democratic backsliding. She investigates how citizens respond to complex global challenges like the climate emergency, technological innovations, and health crises within democratic frameworks.

Prof. Bertsou's publication record demonstrates consistent output in top political science journals including American Journal of Political Science, Nature Human Behaviour, and European Journal of Political Research. Her work shows strong thematic continuity around technocratic governance, democratic resilience, and science communication, with increasing global comparative scope as evidenced by multi-country studies across 67-68 nations.

• Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship grant (Starting Grant) from Swiss National Foundation for 'Varieties of Expertise' project (2022-2027)
• Contributions to major collaborative projects including the Trust in Scientists and Science-related Populism (TISP) ManyLabs study

She supervises doctoral researchers Pradeep Krishnan and Amber Cloé Zenklusen, and maintains affiliations with the Electoral Psychology Observatory at LSE and the European Governance and Politics Program at the European University Institute. Her 'Varieties of Expertise' project represents a significant research investment examining how democratic politics can incorporate citizen demands for independent expertise while maintaining legitimacy.