Dr. Mathias Poertner

Associate Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Mathias Poertner. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Mathias Poertner is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research focuses on the intersection of political behavior, democratic representation, political parties and movements, and political methodology, with a regional focus on Latin America and Europe. Poertner employs a variety of methods including field, survey, and natural experiments, as well as intensive qualitative techniques, to investigate how political participation and representation shape social identities, partisanship, ethnicity, and gender. His research addresses the dynamics of electoral support for new parties, influenced by emerging types of civil society organizations. Moreover, he examines the role of social identities in the context of immigrant integration. Poertner is the author of award-winning books, including "Creating Partisans: Organizational Roots of New Parties in Latin America" (2024, Cambridge University Press) and "Native Bias: Overcoming Discrimination Against Immigrants" (2022, Princeton University Press). His work has been published in leading journals and has received multiple awards, including the Gregory Luebbert Prize and the Leon Epstein Outstanding Book Award. Before joining LSE, he held a faculty position at Texas A&M University and was part of the Evidence Governance Politics (EGAP) network.

Research Interests

Experience

Associate Professor

2021-01-01 — Present

London School of Economics and Political Science • London, GB

Teaching courses related to political science and conducting research on political behavior and representation.

Faculty Position

2019-01-01 — 2021-12-31

Texas A&M University • College Station, TX, US

Engaged in teaching and research before joining LSE.

Postdoctoral Fellow

2018-01-01 — 2019-12-31

Evidence Governance Politics (EGAP) Network •

Conducted research on governance and political experiments.

Courses

GV249: Research Design in Political Science GV336: Latin America: Democracy and Development GV342M: PPE Capstone GV4N4: Comparative Political Behaviour GV4L7L: Political Participation and Representation in Latin America

Requirements for London School of Economics and Political Science

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
IELTS
Listening
Required:6.5
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:6.5
Speaking
Required:6.5
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Upper second class honours (2:1) degree or equivalent in a relevant social science discipline
Application Checklist
  • Transcripts
  • Statement of Academic Purpose
  • Two academic references
  • CV
Specialization Notes

Standard English requirement applies to most programs in Geography, Anthropology, Sociology, and Media.