People

Prof. Dr. Anita Gohdes

Malu A. C. Gatto is Assistant Professor of Latin American Politics at the Institute of the Americas at University College London (UCL). Until July 2019, she will also be a senior researcher (Oberassistentin) at the Department of Political Science of the University of Zurich. Previously, she was at the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Oxford, where she completed her PhD (2016). Her research explores questions about the gendered dynamics of political behavior, representation, and policy-making with a regional focus on Latin America, especially Brazil. For instance, she is currently developing projects on why male legislators adopt gender quotas; the impact of Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment to the perception of women in politics in Brazil; how informal recruitment and appointment practices affect women’s political presence; and, the gendered consequences of political dynasties. 

Theresa Gessler is a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Policy Analysis at the Department of Political Science of the University of Zurich (UZH). She completed her doctorate at the European University Institute in Florence (2019) where her PhD thesis examined how and why parties speak about democracy and the political system. She holds an MA from Central European University with a specialization in political research methodology. Theresa’s current research focuses on democracy, party competition and Central-Eastern Europe. Methodologically, she is interested in quantitative text analysis and machine learning.

Anita Gohdes is Professor of International and Cyber Security at the Hertie School of Governance. Her research focuses on contentious politics in the cyber realm, with a current emphasis on large-scale quantitative analyses of state behaviour. Previously, she was Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Zurich, and postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center International Security Program. Since 2009, she has worked for the California-based non-profit organisation Human Rights Data Analysis Group. She currently advises the German Federal Foreign Office, and has consulted for the World Bank and the United Nations on security and state fragility. Her doctoral dissertation (University of Mannheim) was awarded the German Dissertation Award in the Social Sciences by the Körber Foundation, and the Walter Isard Dissertation Award by the Peace Science Society. Her work has been published, among others, in the Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Conflict Management and Peace Science.

Denise Traber is an Assistant Professor of Political Sociology at the Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland. Previously, she was a senior research fellow (SNSF Ambizione) at the University of Lucerne, a senior researcher at the Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, and a visiting researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Denise’s research focuses on party competition, representation, and political behavior in Europe. Her work appeared in Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of Political Research, West European Politics and Political Science Research and Methods among others.