Robert Thomson

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. While all inquiries in these areas are welcome, there are specific opportunities for doctoral researchers in the following areas:

1. Decision-making and negotiations in international organisations (including the EU, ASEAN and the UN).
2. Comparative democratic performance.
3. The governance of sustainable energy access. See here.
   
4. Election campaign promises in Australia and other countries. The PhD researcher will become part of and make innovative contributions to the world’s largest comparative research program on campaign promises (The Comparative Party Pledges Project).