Dr L. Russo

Luana Russo is Associate Professor in Political Behavior and Quantitative Methods at Maastricht University, where she currently also serves as Co-Director of the Centre for European Research in Maastricht (CERiM).

She obtained her Ph.D. in Political Science in 2011 from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa, Italy) with a thesis on electoral geography. During her doctoral studies, Luana was a visiting scholar at Columbia University (New York, USA) and at the European University Institute (Florence, Italy), broadening her expertise in political behavior research. Following her Ph.D., she held postdoctoral positions at Sciences Po Paris and Université Lille 2 (France). 

Luana's research interests focus on elections, political attitudes and behaviors, political psychology, affective polarization, and negative partisanship. She is dedicated to understanding how individuals form and express their political preferences and form their social identities and affiliations, particularly within the context of contemporary political polarization. 

In addition to her research contributions, Luana has been actively involved in facilitating and organizing research activities and networks. She is currently a member of the ECPR Executive Committee. Furthermore, she has co-edited the journal "Politics of the Low Countries," served as the chair of the ECPR Political Methodology standing group, and founded the Affective Polarization Standing Group  (which she currently chairs). 

Luana has also held several management positions, such as program director of the BA in European Studies, and she has contributed to service positions within academia, including chair of the Faculty Council, member of the University Council, and member of the Female Empowerment Maastricht (FEM) board, where she has worked to promote excellence and inclusivity in academic governance and community engagement.