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Raj Chari
  • Dept. Political Science
    Trinity College Dublin
    1 College Green
    Dublin, Ireland
  • +353-1-896-3480
  • I am a Professor of Political Science who focuses on comparative public policy. My work investigates transparency pol... moreedit
As the first book of the Viral Politics Series (www.viral-politics.com), this book brings together novel cross-interdisciplinary investigation from both natural and social science, representing a true hybrid across disciplines examining... more
As the first book of the Viral Politics Series (www.viral-politics.com), this book brings together novel cross-interdisciplinary investigation from both natural and social science, representing a true hybrid across disciplines examining the ‘politics’ and ‘science’ of COVID-19. Viruses, Vaccines, and Antivirals: Why Politics Matters considers the dynamics surrounding viruses, proposed vaccines, and antiviral therapies, contextualizing what governments have done during the COVID-19 crisis.

The four basic phases of a pandemic are considered with a strong focus on COVID-19, namely the anticipating and early virus detection, containment strategies, policies to control and mitigate the spread of the virus and policies aimed at opening up society. Viruses, Vaccines, and Antivirals examines policy developments throughout these phases in key nations worldwide and puts forward a blueprint for countries developing public policies to deal with a pandemic.

The first academic book to look at COVID-19 that: incorporates thinking from both a social science and a scientific perspective; contextualises the activities of governments around the world; and offers a blueprint for a strong and focused set of public policies to follow during a pandemic.
1st Chapter available on www.regulatelobbying.com. Governments worldwide are developing sunshine policies that increase transparency in politics, where a key initiative is regulating lobbyists. Building on the pioneering first edition,... more
1st Chapter available on www.regulatelobbying.com. Governments worldwide are developing sunshine policies that increase transparency in politics, where a key initiative is regulating lobbyists. Building on the pioneering first edition, this book updates its examination of all jurisdictions with regulations, from the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Unlike any book, it offers unique insights into how the regulations compare and contrast against each other, offering a revamped theoretical classification of different regulatory environments and situating each political system therein. This edition innovatively considers different measurements to capture the robustness of lobbying laws in terms of promoting transparency and accountability. And, based on the authors' experience of advising governments globally, it closes with a no-nonsense guide on how to make a lobbying law. This is of value to policymakers seeking to introduce or amend regulations, and lobbyists seeking to influence this process.
Research Interests:
1st chapter available on www.lifeafterprivatization.com. We know that European countries privatized in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. But what happened to these firms? This book conceptualizes two types of firms emerging after privatization.... more
1st chapter available on www.lifeafterprivatization.com. We know that European countries privatized in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. But what happened to these firms? This book conceptualizes two types of firms emerging after privatization. The ‘Alphas’ are today’s European and global giants, merging with or acquiring other firms, while the ‘Betas’ were taken-over by Alphas or other sectoral leaders. Examining firms in the airline, automobile and the electricity sectors in the EU’s major states, the book’s analytical thrust is to explain why some firms become Alphas and others Betas. Building on a variety of themes from both Political Science and Business Studies, it considers a comprehensive set of explanations both internal and external to the firm. Based on evidence uncovered, the book concludes by developing a novel theory called LIFESHAPERS. The theory offers a significant step forward for scholars and practitioners seeking to better understand of the ‘politics’ that businesses face in global markets.
The financial and economic crisis of the 2000s forced governments and people from around the globe to ask some hard questions about how democracy has evolved. Some of these are old questions; others are new. Is democracy really the most... more
The financial and economic crisis of the 2000s forced governments and people from around the globe to ask some hard questions about how democracy has evolved.  Some of these are old questions; others are new. Is democracy really the most desirable form of government? How democratic is policy-making during the financial and economic crisis? Why do vote-seeking parties in modern democracies actually make voters miserable? Can women’s under-representation in politics be explained because of voter bias? Why are some citizens still excluded from voting in their country? And can terrorist organizations that promote violence one day, really become democratic the next? This represents the first book of its kind to ask and answer a broad range of hard questions that need to be addressed in times of both flux and calls for democratic change throughout the world. It does so by bringing together leading social scientists and rising stars from around the globe.  Interdisciplinary in its analysis, it is essential reading for students of comparative and international politics, political philosophy, gender studies and economics.
In an age of corruption, sleaze and scandal associated with financial crisis and economic downturn across the globe, citizens want more transparency and accountability in politics. Available in paperback n 2012 due to popular demand, this... more
In an age of corruption, sleaze and scandal associated with financial crisis and economic downturn across the globe, citizens want more transparency and accountability in politics. Available in paperback n 2012 due to popular demand, this book originally published in 2010 examines a principal means by which this can be achieved: the regulation of lobbyists. It provides innovative insights into lobbying regulations across four continents - North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. What are these regulations about? What are the differences across the continents? How effective are the rules? How have they changed the lobbying profession? Using qualitative and quantitative analyses, the book compares and contrasts regulatory laws in the US, Canada, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, the EU, Taiwan and Australia.
EU policies and policy-making have taken on an increasing significance as a consequence of the deepened integration process over the last 20 years. The most important EU policies include competition, single market, economic and monetary,... more
EU policies and policy-making have taken on an increasing significance as a consequence of the deepened integration process over the last 20 years. The most important EU policies include competition, single market, economic and monetary, agricultural, social, environmental, immigration and common foreign and security policies. This book asks what these policies are about, what actors have shaped them, and what their consequences are in terms of affecting citizens' lives, as well as constraining domestic policy-makers. These are issues of great interest to those seeking to better understand the objectives, development and impact of collective decisions made at the new level of European governance. Raj Chari and Sylvia Kritzinger argue that the policies are highly influenced by corporations, and aimed to create a competitive and efficient market wherein capital is given priority. In contrast to the policies outlined above, one can identify a set of 'second order' policies which do not form a key part of the EU policy-making agenda and which domestic leaders often effectively ignore.

These include social, environmental, structural, agricultural, immigration and common defence policies. The book focuses on the role of corporate capital in the development of EU policies and on the goals of supranational and domestic political actors. It will be a key text for the teaching of EU politics at both upper undergraduate and post-graduate levels.
A substantial aspect of scientific research involves linking concepts to observations using measurements. This exercise has raised questions among researchers of whether or not measurements 'truly' and 'reliably' capture ideas and... more
A substantial aspect of scientific research involves linking concepts to observations using measurements. This exercise has raised questions among researchers of whether or not measurements 'truly' and 'reliably' capture ideas and observations. We address this question by setting out a methodological standard on how to assess the validity and reliability of measurements. We do this by examining measurements that evaluate public policy, arguing that this topic is gaining increasing attention from political science researchers and policymakers. The analysis concerns measurements of the level of transparency and accountability of lobbying laws, central to recent regulatory policy research. We conduct convergent validation, content validation and reproducibility tests on four indexes applied to 13 regulations found worldwide. By doing so, the paper provides scholars with an evaluation of measurements of lobbying laws' robustness, while offering methodological and theoretical lessons of value to larger regulatory and public policy scholarship.
Research Interests:
This article will examine the regulation of lobbyists as a principal means to increase citizen knowledge of, and participation in, EU politics. Focusing on the “hot-bed” of EU policymaking, the European Commission, we specifically ask:... more
This article will examine the regulation of lobbyists as a principal means to increase citizen knowledge of, and participation in, EU politics. Focusing on the “hot-bed” of EU policymaking, the European Commission, we specifically ask: what has the Commission done and how does this ...
Many studies of the policy process in Spain use distinct periods as an organising framework for analysis, and this approach implies that the process itself changes according to the different periods in question. However, we argue that... more
Many studies of the policy process in Spain use distinct periods as an organising framework for analysis, and this approach implies that the process itself changes according to the different periods in question. However, we argue that this 'periodisation' approach fails to draw an ...
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Throughout the liberal democratic world, the practice of lobbying governments and policy makers is considered integral to the process of policy formulation. Lobbying in Ireland has come to the fore of public policy debates given the... more
Throughout the liberal democratic world, the practice of lobbying governments and policy makers is considered integral to the process of policy formulation. Lobbying in Ireland has come to the fore of public policy debates given the catastrophic collapse of the Irish economy since late 2008 and the role played by lobbyists in contemporary Irish politics. This article offers the results of one of the first significant questionnaires on lobbying regulation given to politicians, lobbyists and administrators in the Republic of Ireland. The aim of this ...
Abstract: This paper will discuss how democracies across the world have sought to regulate the behavior of lobbyists and what impact this has had on transparency in these political systems. This is an area of political science which the... more
Abstract: This paper will discuss how democracies across the world have sought to regulate the behavior of lobbyists and what impact this has had on transparency in these political systems. This is an area of political science which the literature has largely ignored, or focused on in a blinkered fashion, as scholars have tended to examine lobbying regulation on a state by state basis, ignoring the global comparative perspective. This paper, by encompassing developments in lobbying regulations on four continents, seeks to provide ...
Los inmigrantes con derecho de sufragio constituyen un grupo de importancia creciente en el electorado español. En este artículo se destaca la heterogeneidad del fenómeno migratorio a nivel de las comunidades autónomas, para, a... more
Los inmigrantes con derecho de sufragio constituyen un grupo de importancia creciente en el electorado español. En este artículo se destaca la heterogeneidad del fenómeno migratorio a nivel de las comunidades autónomas, para, a continuación, desarrollar un análisis espacial de la inmigración y del creciente poder político que adquiere el voto inmigrante en España. Se señalan las diferencias territoriales en cuanto a la integración de los inmigrantes, generadas por la diferenciación en el derecho al acceso a la nacionalidad española según origen, y se exploran las posibles consecuencias políticas de tal diferenciación. En la última parte se analiza cómo se posicionan los partidos políticos en temas de inmigración y se subrayan los retos sociales y políticos que plantea la evidencia empírica y su previsible evolución.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Visit regulatelobbying.com If you work on lobbying regulations, please contact me to discuss possible collaborations. Regulating Lobbying: A Global Comparison, published in 2010, has proven to be one of the best-selling books of MUP’s... more
Visit regulatelobbying.com
If you work on lobbying regulations, please contact me to discuss possible collaborations.

Regulating Lobbying: A Global Comparison, published in 2010, has proven to be one of the best-selling books of MUP’s EPRU Series, going through a number of print runs. There are four main reasons to write a new edition. First, precisely because the number of jurisdictions throughout the world that have adopted lobbying legislation has increased by 10 since the 1st edition, there is a need to update the book to include these new developments. Secondly, given that the literature in the field has grown in terms of using indices to understand the robustness of lobbying legislation, we will now consider in more depth which of these indices are of most value in capturing robustness in terms of the transparency and accountability the legislation promotes. Finally, based on our experience over the last five years in advising governments globally during the formulation of lobbying laws, we will present a new chapter focussing on lessons for states and lobbyists when developing these forms of regulation.
Research Interests:
A fun unpublished paper on Eurovision, coauthored with Enrique Leon and Jonathan Schachter in 2008! This paper considers two main questions which are based on a long-standing general debate in political science recently re-emerging with... more
A fun unpublished paper on Eurovision, coauthored with Enrique Leon and Jonathan Schachter in 2008! This paper considers two main questions which are based on a long-standing general debate in political science recently re-emerging with criticisms laid by Gerry Mackie against the late William Riker. First, do elites make more informed decisions than mass-publics? Second, do different voting systems produce different results and, if so, why? We first discuss how the Eurovision song contest provides fruitful data to answer these questions. We then highlight that a novel method of analysis, Self-Organizing Maps, not hitherto applied in political science can be used in order to better understand clusters that may form during voting. The first main conclusion is that mass publics are more likely to demonstrate subjective patterns of voting compared to elites. Second, although different voting systems produce different winners, we confirmed that the stronger the preferences towards a candidate then the less likely there will be different results.
Research Interests:
Recent international events sparked renewed academic interest for the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy, particularly towards the Arab world. Usually, much is made of the normative power of the Union and of its role... more
Recent international events sparked renewed academic interest for the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy, particularly towards the Arab world. Usually, much is made of the normative power of the Union and of its role in exporting the values of democratic governance and human rights. It follows that the policies of the Union in specific regions are judged according to the parameters of liberal idealism. This paper challenges such an assumption and argues that a structural realist interpretation of the Union's ...
... Parties? Sylvia Kritzinger i , Robert Klemmensen ii , Raj S. Chari iii i Department of Political Science Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna ... Chari, 2004) in order to pragmatically join forces with other centre-right parties... more
... Parties? Sylvia Kritzinger i , Robert Klemmensen ii , Raj S. Chari iii i Department of Political Science Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna ... Chari, 2004) in order to pragmatically join forces with other centre-right parties (particularly FI, led by Berlusconi). 7 Page 8. ...
1. Introduction - Introducing Hard Questions for Democracy Raj Chari, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Part I - Democracy and Legitimacy 2. Democracy and Moral Autonomy James L. Hyland, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 3. The Values of... more
1. Introduction - Introducing Hard Questions for Democracy Raj Chari, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Part I - Democracy and Legitimacy 2. Democracy and Moral Autonomy James L. Hyland, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 3. The Values of Democratic Proceduralism Gerry Mackie, University of California, USA Section II - Democracy and The Markets 4. Financial and Economic Crisis: Theoretical Explanations of the Global Sunset Patrick Bernhagen, University of Aberdeen, UK and Raj Chari, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 5. Financial and Economic Crisis: Explaining the Sunset Over the Celtic Tiger Raj Chari, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and Patrick Bernhagen, University of Aberdeen, UK Section III - Democracy, Political Parties and Voters 6. Why Vote-Seeking Parties May Make Voters Miserable Michael Laver, New York University, USA 7. What Gives Politics Such a Bad Name Heinz Brandenburg, University of Aberdeen, UK 8. Can Compactness Constrain the Gerrymander Macartan Humphreys, Columbia University, USA 9. Electing Women to the Dail: Gender Cues and the Irish Voter Gail McElroy and Michael Marsh, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 10. Parties and Referendums in Ireland, 1937-2011 Michael Gallagher, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Section IV - Democracy and Participation 11. Should Irish Emigrants Have Votes? External Voting in Ireland Iseult Honohan, University College Dublin, Ireland 12. Can the Internet Reinvent Democracy? Maria Laura Sudulich, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Section V - Democracy, Violence and Conflict 13. Are the Citizens of a Democracy a Just Target for Terrorists? Colm McKeogh, University of Waikato, New Zealand 14. Bombings to Ballots: The Evolution of the Irish Republican Movement's Conceptualization of Democracy Garrett O'Boyle, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Los inmigrantes con derecho de sufragio constituyen un grupo de importancia creciente en el electorado español. En este artículo se destaca la heterogeneidad del fenómeno migratorio a nivel de las comunidades autónomas, para, a... more
Los inmigrantes con derecho de sufragio constituyen un grupo de importancia creciente en el electorado español. En este artículo se destaca la heterogeneidad del fenómeno migratorio a nivel de las comunidades autónomas, para, a continuación, desarrollar un análisis espacial de la inmigración y del creciente poder político que adquiere el voto inmigrante en España. Se señalan las diferencias territoriales en cuanto a la integración de los inmigrantes, generadas por la diferenciación en el derecho al acceso a la nacionalidad española según origen, y se exploran las posibles consecuencias políticas de tal diferenciación. En la última parte se analiza cómo se posicionan los partidos políticos en temas de inmigración y se subrayan los retos sociales y políticos que plantea la evidencia empírica y su previsible evolución.
Поиск в библиотеке, Расширенный поиск. ...
Many studies of the policy process in Spain use distinct periods as an organising framework for analysis, and this approach implies that the process itself changes according to the different periods in question. However, we argue that... more
Many studies of the policy process in Spain use distinct periods as an organising framework for analysis, and this approach implies that the process itself changes according to the different periods in question. However, we argue that this 'periodisation' approach fails to draw an ...
This article examines the causes of the financial and economic crisis in the Republic of Ireland. It first reviews the crisis in advanced capitalist democracies and then situates the Irish case in this context. In the section thereafter,... more
This article examines the causes of the financial and economic crisis in the Republic of Ireland. It first reviews the crisis in advanced capitalist democracies and then situates the Irish case in this context. In the section thereafter, it relates existing narratives and other evidence to the different theoretical explanations surveyed by Bernhagen and Chari (in this issue) in order