Elisabeth Carter

Biography

I received my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Manchester. I studied for a BA in European Studies and Modern Languages (French and German), which included time studying at the IEP in Aix-en-Provence, and then went on to do an MA in European Politics and Policy. I then completed a PhD that examined why right-wing extremist parties across Western Europe have experienced such varying levels of electoral success. I came to Keele in 2003 as a post-doctoral researcher within the Keele European Parties Research Unit (KEPRU) to work on a project on the Europeanization of national political parties. I was then appointed Lecturer in Politics in 2005, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011.

My research mainly focuses on political parties in Western Europe, particularly those of the extreme right, party systems, elections, and electoral institutions. I have written on these topics in books published by Manchester University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Sage, and in articles in the European Journal of Political Research, the Journal of Political Ideologies, Representation, and West European Politics.

At Keele I teach modules in comparative politics, political parties and elections, the extreme right, and research methods.

In recent years I have been School Research Director, REF Lead for Politics and International Studies, and Postgraduate Research Student Director. I was also the Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science from 2016 to 2018. I continue to convene the Centre for Comparative Politics and Policy here at Keele.

Research and scholarship

My areas of research are:

Comparative European Politics
Political Parties and Party Systems
Elections, Electoral Institutions and Electoral Behaviour
Right-Wing Extremism

Teaching

Modern Democracies (Year 1)
The Extreme Right in Western Europe (Year 3)
Dissertation in Politics and International Relations (Year 3)
Comparative European Politics (M-level)
Research in Action (M-level)
Approaches to Research Design and Process (M-level / PhD level)

Selected Publications

Carter E. 2018. Right-wing extremism/radicalism: reconstructing the concept. JOURNAL OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES, 157-182, vol. 23(2). link> doi> full text>
Carter E and Poguntke T. 2010. How European Integration Changes National Parties: Evidence from a 15-Country Study. West European Politics, 297-324, vol. 33(2). doi>
Poguntke T, Aylott N, Carter E, Ladrech R, Luther KR. Poguntke P, Aylott N, Carter E, Ladrech R (Eds.). 2007. The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and Organizational Adaptation. Abingdon: Routledge.
Arzheimer K and Carter E. 2006. Political Opportunity Structures and Right-Wing Extremist Party Success. European Journal of Political Research, 419-443, vol. 45(3). doi>
Carter E. 2005. The Extreme Right in Western Europe: Success or Failure?. Manchester University Press.

Full Publications Listshow

Books

Poguntke T, Aylott N, Carter E, Ladrech R, Luther KR. Poguntke P, Aylott N, Carter E, Ladrech R (Eds.). 2007. The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and Organizational Adaptation. Abingdon: Routledge.
Carter E. 2005. The Extreme Right in Western Europe: Success or Failure?. Manchester University Press.

Journal Articles

Carter E. 2018. Right-wing extremism/radicalism: reconstructing the concept. JOURNAL OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES, 157-182, vol. 23(2). link> doi> full text>
Carter EL. 2002. Proportional Representation and the Fortunes of Right-Wing Extremist Parties. West European Politics, 125-146, vol. 25(3). doi>
Carter E and Poguntke T. 2010. How European Integration Changes National Parties: Evidence from a 15-Country Study. West European Politics, 297-324, vol. 33(2). doi>
Arzheimer K and Carter E. 2009. Christian Religiosity and Voting for West European Radical Right Parties. West European Politics, 985-1011, vol. 32(5). doi>
Arzheimer K and Carter E. 2009. How (not) to Operationalise Subnational Political Opportunity Structures: A Critique of Kestilä and Söderlund's Study of Regional Elections. European Journal of Political Research, 335-358, vol. 48(3). doi> link>
Arzheimer K and Carter E. 2006. Political Opportunity Structures and Right-Wing Extremist Party Success. European Journal of Political Research, 419-443, vol. 45(3). doi>
Carter E. 2004. Does PR Promote Extremism? Evidence from the West European Parties of the Extreme Right. Representation, 82-100, vol. 40(2). doi>
Carter E. 2004. Does PR Promote Political Extremism? A Rejoinder. Representation, 63-66, vol. 41(1). doi>
Carter E. 2002. Doctoral Research: The Electoral Fortunes of the Extreme Right in Western Europe. European Political Science, 65-66, vol. 1(2). doi>
Arzheimer K, Baldini G, Bjorklund T, Carter E, Evans JAJ, Fisher S, Ivaldi G. 2001. Comparative Mapping of Extreme Right Electoral Dynamics: An Overview of EREPS. European Political Science, 42-53, vol. 1(1). doi>

Chapters

Carter E. 2017. Party Ideology. In The Populist Radical Right: A Reader. Mudde C (Ed.). Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Carter E and Farrell DM. 2010. Electoral Systems and Election Management. In Comparing Democracies 3. LeDuc L, Niemi RG, Norris P (Eds.). Sage Publications Ltd.
Carter E, Loomes G, Lundberg TC. 2010. United Kingdom. In The 2009 Elections to the European Parliament: Country Reports. Gagatek W (Ed.). San Domenico di Fiesole (FI): European University Institute. doi>
Carter E, Luther KR, Poguntke T. 2007. European Integration and Internal Party Dynamics. In The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and Organizational Adaptation. Poguntke T, Aylott N, Carter E, Ladrech R, Luther KR (Eds.). Abingdon: Routledge.
Carter E and Ladrech R. 2007. Government Change, Organizational Continuity: The Limited Europeanization of British Political Parties. In The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and Organizational Adaptation. Poguntke T, Aylott N, Carter E, Ladrech R, Luther KR (Eds.). Abingdon: Routledge.
Bowler S, Carter E, Farrell DM. 2006. Sistemi elettorali, leggi elettorali e fortune dei partiti politici in Europa occidentale. In Partiti e sistemi di partito. Bardi L (Ed.). Bologna: Il Mulino.
Bowler S, Carter E, Farrell DM. 2004. Changing Party Access to Elections. In Democracy Transformed? Expanding Political Opportunities in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Cain BE, Dalton RJ, Scarrow SE (Eds.). Oxford University Press.

Other

Carter E. 2014. Book Review: "Mapping Extreme Right Ideology: An Empirical Geography of the European Extreme Right", by S.Harrison and M.Bruter. link> doi>
Carter E. 2008. Book Review: "Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe" by C.Mudde. Political Studies Review.
Carter E. 2007. Far Right: A Review of "Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe", by P. Ignazi; "Right-wing Extremism in the Twenty-first Century, by P.H.Merkl and L.Weinberg (eds); "From Tax Populism to Ethnic Nationalism: Radical Right-wing Populism in Sweden", by J.Rydgren; and "Modernity and Secession: The Social Sciences and the Political Discourse of the Lega Nord in Italy, by M.Huysseune.

PhD Supervision

Comparative European Politics
Political Parties and Party Systems
Elections, Electoral Institutions and Electoral Behaviour
Right-Wing Extremism

Prospective students interested in pursuing doctoral research in these areas are welcome to get in touch with me.

Further information is available about studying for a PhD in Politics.

School of Social, Political and Global Studies
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Tel: +44 (0) 1782 733192

Undergraduate and postgraduate enquiries
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 734346
Email: spgs.office@keele.ac.uk

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Dr Elisabeth Carter