Simon Primus

Dr. Simon Primus

Assistant Professor

Institute of Political Science
Chair of Comparative Politics (Prof. Dr. Sandra Eckert)

Room: Room 00.014
Kochstreet 4
91054 Erlangen
Germany

Office hours

Jede Woche Th, 11:00 - 12:00, (by prior appointment via mail)

I studied political science at the LMU Munich (BA 2011, MA 2014, Dr. rer. soc. 2021) and the University of Ghana (MPhil 2015). I am broadly interested in the cross-national comparison of regimes and political behavior. My research revolves around democratization processes and linkages between individual orientations and regime stability and change. In my doctoral thesis, I compared voting behaviour across 16 African democracies to understand the circumstances under which people give up identitarian loyalties and hold governments to account for developmental outcomes. Sub-Saharan Africa generally represents a geographical focus in my work. The almost continent-wide introduction of democratic institutions since 1990, in conjunction with growing data availability, make the region particularly relevant to understand institutional transformation processes. In terms of methodology, I mainly rely on quantitative-statistical approaches with a special interest in the joint analysis of survey and macro data in multi-level and panel models. At the same time, I value qualitative and critical perspectives.

  • Since 10/2022: Assistant Professor. Chair of Comparative Politics (Prof. Dr. Sandra Eckert), Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nuremberg
  • 10/2021 – 9/2022: Assistant Professor. Chair for Empirical Political Research and Policy Analysis (Prof. Dr. Paul W. Thurner), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
  • 11/2021: PhD in Political Science. University of Munich (LMU), Germany. Dissertation: Identity, Poverty, and Electoral Accountability in Africa’s Democracies: A Comparative Study. Main Supervisor: Prof. Paul W. Thurner
  • 11/2016 – 2/2017: Field research on Ghana’s Dec 2016 election as a research associate at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), Accra, Ghana.
  • 11/2015 – 10/2018: PhD Study Grant from the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (Foundation of the German Economy)
  • 2012 – 2014: Student research assistant at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), Accra, Ghana
  • 2012 – 2015: Study of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana (M.Phil 2015)
  • 2010 – 2012: Student research assistant at the Chair for Global Governance and Public Policy (Prof. Dr. Bernhard Zangl), University of Munich (LMU), Germany
  • 2008 – 2014: Study of Political Science at the University of Munich (LMU), Germany (BA 2011; MA 2014)

  • Democracy and Democratization
  • Political attitudes and Political Behavior (especially in relation to regime change)
  • Voting Behaviour and Electoral Accountability
  • sub-Saharan Africa
  • Quantitative Methods and Survey-Data

Articles in Refereed Journals

Other Publications

  • Primus, Simon.  2021. Identity, Poverty, and Electoral Accountability in Africa’s Democracies: A Comparative Study. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • Primus, Simon, Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi. 2018. Dedicated Democrats against the Global Trend? Attitudes towards Democracy in Africa. International Reports (Ai) 2018 (4): 48-59.
  • Primus, Simon. 2016. Opposition in Ghana. Starke Strukturen – Aber reicht es für Die Macht?”. Afrika-Bulletin 162: 6-7.
  • Primus, Simon. 2015. Africa’s Political Culture(s): A Comparative Analysis of the Role of Political Attitudes and Values in Africa’s Democratisation. MPhil Thesis. University of Ghana.
  • Primus, Simon. 2015. Economic Voting in Ghana. An in-Depth Study of the Economic Factor in African Elections. Muenchener Beitraege zur Politikwissenschaft.

Conference Papers

  • Primus, Simon, and Gildfred Asiamah. 2019. Voting for Development. How the Supply of Developmental Goods drives Electoral Dynamics in Ghana. Paper presented at the 3rd Ghana Studies Triennial Conference, 10-13 July 2019, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
  • Primus, Simon, Gildfred Asiamah, Mohammed Awal, and Edem Selormey. 2018. Not Ethnic but Partisan Voting. Identity and Electoral Accountability in Ghana’s 2016 Election. Paper presented at the 76th Annual MPSA Conference, April 5-8, 2018, Chicago, USA.
  • Primus, Simon. 2017. Government Performance and Retrospective Voting in Africa. A Comparative Perspective. Paper presented at the 75th Annual MPSA Conference, April 6-9, 2017, Chicago, USA.
  • Primus, Simon. 2015. The Power of Performance: The remarkable Effect of Performance Perceptions on Ghanaian Voting Intentions. Paper presented at the Afrobarometer Summer School 2015, University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa.