Nigel Roberts

Professor

BA Tas, MA Essex  

Profile

Nigel S. Roberts is Professor of Political Science. As a teacher and researcher, he specialises in comparative politics and political sociology - with a particular emphasis on New Zealand and Scandinavian politics, electoral systems, and voting behaviour. Professor Roberts teaches courses on New Zealand government and politics, on Scandinavian government and politics, and on comparative electoral systems. Together with Professors Jonathan Boston, Stephen Levine and Elizabeth McLeay, he was a member of the New Zealand Political Change Project, which was funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology for eight years (from 1995 to 2003) to investigate the consequences of New Zealand's switch to proportional representation. Since 1987, Nigel Roberts has been Television New Zealand's election-night commentator; and his off-campus interests include mountaineering, long-distance running, and photography.  For further information about Professor Roberts' political science and other interests, see www.nigel-roberts.info.

Current Research Projects

Nigel Roberts' current research focuses on a range of electoral systems, including those in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Scandinavia, the South Pacific, and the United States. Among other projects, he is continuing to assess the consequences and impact of New Zealand's switch to MMP; he recently completed a comparative study of the constitutions and voting systems of the Pacific Island states; and he is currently working on a study of the effects that various voting systems have on ways in which candidates and parties campaign for office.

Nigel Roberts and Stephen Levine have together studied elections and voting behaviour in New Zealand for more than twenty years, and their latest book, The Baubles of Office: The New Zealand General Election of 2005, was published by Victoria University Press early in 2007.

Selection of Publications

Nigel S. Roberts and Stephen Levine (eds.), The Baubles of Office: The New Zealand General Election of 2005 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2007)

Nigel S. Roberts, et al., (eds.), New Zealand Votes: The General Election of 2002 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2003)

Nigel S. Roberts, et al., (eds.) Left Turn: The New Zealand General Election of 1999 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2000)

Nigel S. Roberts, et al., (eds.) From Campaign to Coalition: New Zealand's First General Election Under Proportional Representation (Palmerston North: Dunmore, 1997)

Nigel S. Roberts, et al., New Zealand Under MMP: A New Politics? (Auckland University Press, 1996)

Current Teaching

POLS 206 – New Zealand Politics: Power, Equality and Diversity (1st trimester 2007 and 1st trimester 2008)

POLS 358 – How Democracies Vote (2nd trimester 2008)

POLS 428 - Parliamentary Internship (1st trimester 2007)

POLS 432 – Some Aspects of Policymaking (1st and 2nd trimesters 2008)

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