New scientific staff member: Christopher Williams, Ph.D.

Since July 2015, Christopher Williams works as a researcher at the MZES, Department B, in the project B3.6 "Public Opinion of European Societies in Change" directed by Professor Annelies Blom and Professor Thomas König.

Christopher Williams received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Texas in December 2012. He has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the “Database on Political Responsiveness” project (http://www.policyvotes.org/ ) at Maastricht University and from September 2014 through August 2015 he held a Jean Monnet Fellowship at the European University Institute.

His research interests lie in the comparative study of democratic governance, public opinion, political parties, and public policy. His current research agenda focuses on the question of political representation and policy responsiveness, mainly in the European Union and its member states, however, he does have interests in other geographic regions.

Currently, he is engaged in two major research undertakings. First, he is developing a study of policy responsiveness in the four key institutions of the European Union across time. Second, he is examining the effect of public attitudes towards European integration on policy-making and implementation in the EU and its member states. He has published numerous articles and book chapters in outlets including Justice System Journal and European Union Politics.