Prof Robert Mattes

Prof Robert Mattes is an Adjunct Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town. He is a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Originally from the United States, he spent 25 years researching and teaching in South Africa before moving to Strathclyde in 2016. He was visiting research scholar at Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies in 2016. He is honorary professor of political studies and former director of the Democracy in Africa Research Unit in the Centre for Social Science Research at the University of Cape Town. He is also a co-founder of Afrobarometer.

Robert was principal investigator in major research projects such as the African Legislatures Project and the South African National Election Study. He is the co-author author of Public Opinion, Democracy, and Markets in Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2005). His articles have appeared in American Journal of Political Science, World Development, and Party Politics, amongst others.