Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

I am Professor of Comparative Politics at Keele University and currently a Visiting Professor of Politics at the University of Vienna. I am the Convenor of the Keele European Parties Research Unit (KEPRU) and of the Parties Standing Group of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). In 2009, the Austrian Federal President awarded me the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Arts.

Myresearch falls in the broad field of Comparative Politics. It has embraced topics such asfederalism, consociational democracy, aspects of European integration and political parties and party systems. My current research focuses mainly on political parties, including theirorganization, their role in deeply divided societies and party competition. I was recently part of a successful major ESRC-funded project (hosted by the Keele European Parties Research Unit- KEPRU) on the impact of European integration on the internal organization of national political parties throughout Western Europe. I continue to research into the organizational adaptation of radical right-wing parties and into the strategies of those parties and of their competitors, as well as to specialize on Austrian party politics. I am a member of a recently-formed international research network on left-wing parties and trade unions.

• Comparative Political Analysis
• German Government and Politics
• Political Parties: Origins and Organization
• Party Systems and Elections
• Right-Wing Radical Parties in Western Europe
• Comparative European Politics

Publications:

• Bale, T., Green-Pedersen, C., Krouwel, A., Luther, K. R. and Sitter, N. (2010) 'If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them? Explaining Social Democratic Responses to the Challenge from the Populist Radical Right in Western Europe', Political Studies, 5(3): 410-426
• Luther, K. R. (2009) Governing with right-wing populists and managing the consequences: Schüssel and the FPÖ, in: G. Bischof and F. Plasser (eds) The Schüssel Years in Austria (New Orleans: University of New Orleans Press), 79-118
• Luther, K. R. (2009) 'The revival of the radical right: The Austrian parliamentary election of 2008', West European Politics, 32, pp. 1049-1061.
• Luther, K. R. (2009) Austria, in: D. Sagar, (ed.) Political Parties of the World (London, John Harper Publishing), 7th edn, pp.28-35.
• Luther, K. R. (2009) Austrian History, in J. Love, (ed), Western Europe 2010, 12th edition (London: Routledge), 68-75
• Luther, K. R. (2008) ‘Towards stratarchy? European integration and the intra-party power of Austrian MEPs and delegation leaders’, Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 37/3, 253-272.
• Luther, K. R. (2008) ‘The Austrian parliamentary election of 2006: From bipolarism to forced marriage?, West European Politics, 31/5, 1005-1015.
• Luther, K. R. (2008) 'Electoral Strategies and Performances of Austrian Right-wing Populism, 1986-2006', in Gunter Bischof and Fritz Plasser (eds.) The Changing Austrian Voter. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 104-122.
• Poguntke, T. Aylott, N, Ladrech, R. and Luther, K. R. (2007) 'The Europeanization of national party organizations. A conceptual analysis', European Journal for Political Research, 46/6, 747-771
• Poguntke, T, Aylott, N., Carter, E. and Ladrech, R. (2007) (eds) The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and Organizational Adaptation, London, Routledge.
• Luther, K. R. (2006) ‘Wahlstrategien und Wahlergebnisse des österreichischen Rechtspopulismus, 1986-2006’, in Fritz Plasser and Peter A. Ulram (eds) Wechselwahlen. Analysen zur Nationalratswahl, Vienna: facultas.wuv, 231-254.
• Luther, K. R. (2006) 'Strategien und (Fehl-)Verhalten: Die Freiheitlichen und die Regierungen Schüssel I und II', in Emmerich Tálos, (ed.), Umbau in Schwarz-Blau (-Orange). Eine Bilanz, Vienna: Lit Verlag,19-37.
• Luther, K. R. (2006) 'Die Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) und das Bündnis Zukunft Österreich (BZÖ)' in Herbert Dachs, Peter Gerlich, Herbert Gottweis, Helmut Kramer, Volkmar Lauber, Wolfgang C. Müller and Emmerich Tálos (eds), Politik in Österreich. Ein Handbuch, Vienna: Manz, 364-388.
• Luther, K. R. and Müller-Rommel, F. (eds) (2005) Political Parties in the New Europe: Political and Analytical Challenges, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2nd edition.
• Luther, K. R. (2003) 'The FPÖ: From Populist Protest to Incumbency', in Peter Merkl and Leonard Weinberg (eds) Right-Wing Extremism in the Twenty-First Century, London: Frank Cass, 191-219.
• Luther, K. R. (2003) 'The Self-Destruction of a Right-Wing Populist Party? The Austrian Parliamentary Elections of 2002', West European Politics, 26/2, 136-152.
• Luther, K. R. (2001) 'Parteistrategische Herausforderungen der Regierungsbeteiligung: Die FPÖ vor und nach ihrer Regierungsbeteiligung', Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, Special Issue on Anlassfall Österreich: Die Europäische Union auf dem Weg zu einer Wertegemeinschaft, Nomos: Baden-Baden, 69-88.
• Luther, K. R. (2000) 'Austria: A Democracy under Threat from the Freedom Party?', Parliamentary Affairs, 53/3, 426-442.
• Luther, K. R. and Deschouwer, K. (eds) (1999) Political Elites in Divided Societies: Political Parties in Consociational Democracy London: Routledge,
• Luther, K. R. (1999) 'From Moderate to Polarized Pluralism? The Austrian party system in transition', in David Broughton & Mark Donovan (eds), Changing Party Systems in Western Europe, London: Pinter, 118-142.
• Luther, K. R. and Ogilvie, I, (eds) (1998) Austria and the European Union Presidency: Background and Perspectives, Keele: Keele European Research Centre.
• Luther, K. R. and Pulzer, P. (edS) (1998) Austria 1945-95: Fifty Years of the Second Republic, London: Ashgate.
• Luther, K. R. and Müller, W. C. (1992) Politics in Austria: Still a Case of Consociationalism?, London: Frank Cass, (This volume also appeared as a special issue of West European Politics, 15 (1).)

I am happy to receive enquiries from prospective research students wishing to work in the broad field of Comparative Politics. In particular, I would welcome supervising students interested in researching the following topics:

• Comparative European Politics
• Political Parties (including party organization and strategy)
• Parties in Deeply-divided Societies
• Party Competition
• ‘Right-wing Radical’, ‘Populist’ and other types of ‘Anti-establishment’ party
• The Politics of the German-speaking States
• Federalism

Prospective Students

Please feel free to contact me with an outline research proposal. This should include

• Your research question – clearly identified.
• How you propose to answer this question. What theoretical and/or empirical work do you expect to undertake (e.g. case studies)?
• How does your research project relate to relevant academic debates and literatures?
• What likely contribution do you expect to make to such debates or literatures?
• What research methodology do you expect to employ in your project?

Further information on postgraduate research at Keele, including Keele’s annual studentship competition, see here.