Ursula Daxecker is director of the department “Political Institutions and Conflict” at the Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science (IPS). She is also professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, where she is a member of the Political Insitutions and Identities research group at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research and the Department of Political Science. She joins the Max Planck Society after holding academic positions at the University of Amsterdam (2013-) and Colorado State University (2008-2012).
Daxecker’s work is interested in the relationship between political institutions and conflict, the quality of democracy, and democratic erosion. She is the author of Pirate Lands: Governance and Maritime Piracy (Oxford University Press, 2021) and guest editor of three special issues (Journal of Peace Research 2020&2025, European Journal of International Relations 2020). Her work is published in Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Peace Research, Comparative Politics, Electoral Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, among others. She is part of the DIViNE Doctoral Network (Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe), which is funded by the European Research Council. She is also co-applicant in the project DeMoCraft: Democratic Moral Craftsmanship for Just and Resilient Institutions (2026-2033), supported by the Dutch Science Foundation. From 2020-2026, she was principal investigator of the project Elections, Violence, and Parties funded by the European Research Council. Previously, her research has received funding from the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO), the European Commission's Marie Curie Actions, and the U.S. Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative.
She has joined the Institute full-time from September 2026.
Curriculum vitae & Publications
“I am excited to lead a department studying pressing questions in contemporary societies around the world, such as when and why political violence happens, the dynamics of electoral processes, and the state of democracy. The department will rely on innovative analytical and methodological tools to further the Institute’s aim of doing excellent social science.”
Ursula Daxecker
Ursula Daxecker will present two papers at the EPSS: Understanding Political Elites’ Support for Democracy: Evidence from Indian Politicians and The Persistence of Political Violence in Democracy: Evidence from Micro-level Data in India
On 27 May 2026, Ursula Daxecker and Neeraj Prasad organize a concluding workshop at the University of Amsterdam to discuss their book manuscript The Logic of Party Violence. The workshop concludes the ERC Starting Grant project Elections, Violence, and Parties (EVaP), which examined how and why political parties use violence during elections and how this violence shapes democracy and political competition.
A workshop on the political economy of conflict, organized by Ursula Daxecker, took place on 22 April at the University of Amsterdam, bringing together scholars to discuss current research on conflict, governance, and economic dynamics.
The Department of Political Institutions & Conflict has held its inaugural meeting from 8–10 April 2026, bringing together scholars to discuss research on political violence, democratization, & inequality. Participants discussed the challenges shaping political institutions & conflict across societies.