Irine Kurtanidze
Email: i.kurtanidze@qmul.ac.uk
Research topic: Fear Politics and Voting Behaviour
Supervisors: Dr. Sofia Collignon, Prof. Javier Sajuria
Research Interests: I study voting behaviour in hybrid and transitional democracies, with a particular focus on post-Soviet states and Eastern Europe. I'm especially interested in how emotions—like fear, anxiety, and hope—shape political choices in fragile democratic settings. My research brings together political psychology, securitisation theory, and electoral studies to understand how political elites use emotional appeals, especially fear-based messaging, to influence voter behaviour.
More broadly, my work looks at:
- how people vote in hybrid and transitional democracies,
- how fear and threat narratives are used strategically in election campaigns, and
- how emotional mobilisation reshapes the way voters engage with politics.
I use quantitative methods, including large-scale survey data and statistical modelling, to study patterns in political behaviour across countries and over time. Through this work, I hope to shed light on why voters sometimes support incumbents despite democratic backsliding—and how emotional narratives can become more powerful than policy or performance in shaping electoral outcomes.
Education/Professional Qualifications
- MSc in Media, Power, and Public Affairs, Royal Holloway, University of London
- Chevening Scholar, 2018–2019
Work Experience: Experienced in political communications and campaign strategy, with a background in training, advising, and managing electoral campaigns across Eastern Europe.
Social Media: LinkedIn