Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Robert Thomson is Professor of Political Science in the School of Social Sciences. He joined Monash in 2017, and previously held positions in the Netherlands (at the Universities of Groningen and Utrecht), Ireland (at Trinity College Dublin) and the United Kingdom (at the University of Strathclyde).
His research focuses on two broad areas of politics: international comparisons of democratic representation, and international governance. Robert and his colleagues are examining the conditions under which politicians keep and break the promises they make to voters when they enter government office. He also has ongoing research on the European Union and on international cooperation in climate change policy.
Robert welcomes inquiries from prospective doctoral researchers, masters students and honours students. He advises students in a range of areas: democratic representation; national and international governance; and public policy. He currently supervises doctoral researchers who are studying Australian party politics, Indian party politics, a comparative study of environmental politics, international cooperation in ASEAN, governance in China and the Belt and Road Initiative.
While all inquiries are welcome, there are specific opportunities for doctoral researchers in the following areas:
- International governance and negotiations in international organisations (including the EU, ASEAN and the UN).
- Comparative democratic performance.
- The governance of sustainable energy access. See here.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Network
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NEL: The Nexus of Public and Elite Opinions: Implications for Policies and Institutions
Thomson, R., Lin, D., Arunachalam, D. & Li, Y.
Office of National Intelligence (ONI) (Australia)
1/07/22 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
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Promissory Democratic Representation: Campaign Promises in Australia
Thomson, R., Dumont, P. & Waller, L.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
5/05/21 → 4/05/24
Project: Research
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IAD: Internationalisation and Democracy
Thomson, R. & Schneider, C.
21/04/20 → 20/04/23
Project: Research
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MEC: Mixed methods for analysing what political parties promise to voters during election campaigns
Naurin, E., Thomson, R., Hovy, D., Jankin Mikhaylov, S., de Vreese, C. & Wängnerud, L.
1/01/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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Artificial Intelligence for Stronger Democracy and Policy Performance
Thomson, R., Schneider, C., Andrejevic, M., Buntine, W., Hill, S. J. & Nakashole, N.
1/08/19 → 1/11/20
Project: Research
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The impact of national democratic representation on decision-making in the European Union
Kleine, M., Arregui, J. & Thomson, R., 2022, In: Journal of European Public Policy. 29, 1, p. 1-11 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Other › peer-review
Open Access -
A comparison of two views on the European Commission: engine of integration and conduit of national interests
Thomson, R. & Dumont, P., 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of European Public Policy. 29, 1, p. 136-154 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Intergovernmental cooperation networks, national policy positions and partisan ideologies: longitudinal evidence from the Council of the European Union
Huhe, N., Thomson, R., Arregui, J. & Naurin, D., 2021, In: Journal of European Public Policy. 29, 1, p. 78-96 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
The Elusive Governance o Climate Change: Nationally Determined Contributions as Commitments and Negotiating Positions
Leinaweaver, J. & Thomson, R., 2021, In: Global Environmental Politics. 21, 2, p. 1-26 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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The uneven expansion of electricity supply in India: the logics of clientelism, incrementalism and maximin
Martinez Arranz, A., Thomson, R., Zech, S., Hegde, G., Arunachalam, D. & Rao, A., Aug 2021, In: Energy Research & Social Science. 78, 12 p., 102126.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review