Professor Jack Vowles
BA, MA (Auckland) PhD (University of British Columbia), FRSNZ
Extension: 3240
Professor of Political Science
My research is most broadly in the field of comparative politics, more specifically in comparative political behaviour, with a focus on elections, referendums, election campaigns, public opinion, and the consequences of electoral systems. I am particularly interested in the concept of electoral accountability in both its normative and empirical dimensions. Recent work tests hypotheses about the effects of norms and interests in shaping political action, and explores the interactions between them. Currently, I am engaged in a study of the UK electoral system referendum. Most of my work over the past decade has explored the course and consequences of electoral system change in New Zealand, much of it published in a series of books from Auckland University Press. The most recent is Voters' Veto (2004). Other current research is on the effects of globalization on public perceptions of electoral accountability.
