Dr L. Russo

Luana Russo is Associate Professor in Political Behavior and Quantitative Methods at Maastricht University, where she currently also serves as Program Director of the BA in European Studies.

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 Euroepan University Institute (Florence, Italy) broadening her expertise in political behavior research. Following her Ph.D., she held post-doctoral positions at Sciences-Po Paris and Université Lille 2 (France). 

Luana's research interests focuses 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 network (which she currently chairs). 

Luana has also held several 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.