Prof Robert Mattes is a Professor of Government and Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde, UK, and Honorary Professor at the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship, and Public Policy in Africa at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. He is a Co-Founder of, and Senior Adviser to Afrobarometer, a ground-breaking regular survey of public opinion in 35 African countries.
Prof Mattes' Research focuses on the development of democratic attitudes and practices across Africa. He is the Co-Author (with Michael Bratton and E. Gyimah-Boadi) of Public Opinion, Democracy, and Markets In Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and (with David Denemark and Richard Niemi) of Growing Up Democratic: Does It Make A Difference? (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2016) and has Authored or Co-Authored articles in journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, World Development, Journal of Democracy, Democratization, and Party Politics.
He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA (1992). Prof Mattes has also helped to Launch and run other major research projects such as the African Legislatures Project (Co-Principal Investigator), a systematic study of 17 African parliaments from 2008 to 2012, and the South African National Election Study (Principal Investigator), a series of post-election surveys dating back to 1994.
As a Consultant for various donors and government agents, he has Designed and Conducted surveys and other research projects in South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
