Professor Alistair Clark is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Newcastle University and this semester he is a visiting professor at LUISS at the Department of Political Science.
Alistair Clark is a professor and researcher at the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at the English university, one of the most renowned in Europe for the study of politics. "This will be the first time that I have taken a sabbatical from Newcastle to work abroad," he explains: "I decided to come to Italy for a number of reasons. I will primarily be aiming to further my research and explore research collaborations." The research interests of Professor Clark focus mainly on political parties, party systems, and participation, even at the local level: "In particular at the moment I am working on election quality and integrity, how these issues relate to political parties and also the broader question of how party political competition has changed and its effects on democratic life. I have also worked on parliamentary engagement in the past. I wish to expand my knowledge of the Italian political system in relation to these areas, and I think there is a lot to be learned from Italy."
The author of numerous publications on the British political system, Alistair Clark is currently the deputy editor of The British Journal of Politics & International Relations since 2009. He also serves on the Executive of the UK Political Studies Association. His doctoral dissertation, entitled Local Parties, Participation and Campaigning in Post-Devolution Scotland, won the Arthur McDougall Prize from the Political Studies Association in 2007.
"I chose LUISS because it has a number of widely noted experts in Political Science, such as professors Morlino, D'Alimonte, Fabbrini and Lupo, among others. During my period at LUISS I also hope to investigate students' transferable skills for employability purposes. I very much look forward to interesting and productive exchanges with both colleagues and students."
