Research lines

One broad line of my research examines the drivers and consequences of political parties’ responsiveness to voters along the cultural dimension of political conflict, particularly with respect to immigration as a core issue. This work also engages with party competition issues and broader dynamics of political representation.

A second line of research focuses on the formation and change of political preferences and attitudes. I am particularly interested in how political parties, policies, institutions, and regimes shape public opinion about immigration, democratic governance, international cooperation and other issues.

Take a look at my Publications or Google Scholar profile to find out more.

Work in progress

• Far-right parties and affective polarization: the role of voters’ immigration attitudes and democratic beliefs (Under review)
• Multiple social identities and affective polarization in multiparty systems: Evidence from a conjoint experiment in five countries (with Mariano Torcal and Josep Comellas. Revise and resubmit)
• Immigration attitudes, democratic beliefs and perceptions about government responsiveness
• The consequences of immigration and nativist resentment for national identity
• Communist legacies and citizens’ attitudes to socio-cultural issues
• Ethnic inequality, selective solidarity, and support for the far-right
• The electoral consequences of political parties’ responsiveness to public opinion (with Andra Roescu)
• The refugee crisis and its impact on political parties in European countries
• Party responsiveness on immigration: the role of party characteristics and of issue salience

Research projects

Ongoing research projects

• The antiprejudice norm in times of growing immigration (PRENORM). PI: Alina Vranceanu. Funded by Fundació La Caixa. Duration: 2025-2026.
  
  
  Pre-analysis plan available at OSF.

Past research projects

• Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration (MEDAM) Project. Co-hosted by the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute (2020-2022). Role: Research Fellow leading work on public opinion surveys and conjoint experiments.
  
  
  Research output: Vranceanu A, E Dinas, T Heidland, and M Ruhs (2023). The European refugee crisis and public support for the externalisation of migration management. European Journal of Political Research. Open Access here.