Simon Chauchard is Associate Professor of Political Science and Distinguished Researcher (Investigador Distinguido) at the University Carlos III (Madrid), a member of the Instituto Juan Linz (IJL), and the PI of the POLARCHATS ERC project. He also coordinates the activities of the PIMlab, the hub for political behavior research on Polarization, Identity and Misinformation within the IJL and within the department of social sciences at UC3M. He previously held positions at Dartmouth College, Columbia University (SIPA) and Leiden University.
Much of his current research focuses on the causes and consequences of social media misinformation in developing countries. As part of the POLARCHATS ERC project, his research explores the prevalence of misinformation online, strategies to reduce misinformation or correct it, and the uses that parties make of social media (mainly WhatsApp), in India and beyond. He also co-organizes the DIMIS (Digital Misinformation in the Global South) initiative.
In parallel, he continues to produce research on voting behavior, political representation and politicians-citizens relations in India. His work relies on qualitative, quantitative and experimental methodologies and covers a variety of themes relevant to contemporary Indian politics, and beyond, to political processes in the world’s democracies. Current projects focus on preferences for redistribution, and on “proxy politics”.
His works have appeared in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, the British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Political Opinion Quarterly, World Development, Science Advances and Asian Survey, among other research outlets. His book, titled Why Representation Matters: The Meaning of Ethnic Quotas in Rural India (Cambridge University Press, 2017), combines qualitative work and a series of innovative surveys to explore the impact of caste-based reservation policies on everyday intergroup relations in India’s villages.
CONTACT:
@simonchauchard.bsky.social on Bluesky
simon.chauchard@uc3m.es