Michael Gallagher (academic)

Michael Gallagher is a political scientist. He is Professor of Comparative Politics and head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Dublin, Trinity College.

Education

Trained as a computer scientist, Gallagher combines his understanding of statistical analysis with his interests in politics. He holds a B.A. from Lancaster, two M.Sc. degrees, one from Essex and one from Strathclyde. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Strathclyde.

Career

Though Professor Gallagher is perhaps most noted for his least squares index of disproportionality, the Gallagher index, he has wide research interests, including Irish Politics, comparative political institutions and political parties.

Professor Gallagher is the author, co-author or editor of eighteen books, including The Politics of Electoral Systems (2005, co-edited with Paul Mitchell), Politics in the Republic of Ireland (4th ed., 2005, co-edited with John Coakley), and Representative Government in Modern Europe (4th ed., 2006, co-edited with Michael Laver and Peter Mair), which are standard textbooks in their fields. He has also written around journal articles and book chapters (his most cited independent work is 'Proportionality, Disproportionality and Electoral Systems' in Electoral Studies [1991]), and serves on the editorial boards of various journals in the discipline, including Electoral Studies, European Journal of Political Research, Representation, Party Politics and Irish Political Studies. Gallagher was president of the Political Studies Association of Ireland, from 1994 to 1996.

Works

• Michael Gallagher, Peter Mair and Michael Laver (eds.) (2005). Representative Government in Modern Europe. McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-297706-X. 
• Michael Gallagher and Paul Mitchell (eds.) (2005). The Politics of Electoral Systems. OUP. ISBN 0-19-925756-6. 
• John Coakley and Michael Gallagher (eds.) (2004). Politics in the Republic of Ireland. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28066-4. 
• Michael Gallagher, Michael Marsh and Paul Mitchell (2003). How Ireland Voted 2002. Routledge. ISBN 0-333-96835-2. 
• Michael Gallagher and Michael Marsh (2002). Days of Blue Loyalty: the politics of membership of the Fine Gael party. Routledge. ISBN 0-9519748-6-6. 
• Michael Gallagher and Pier Vincenzo Uleri (eds.) (1996). The Referendum Experience in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-67018-3. 
• Michael Gallagher (ed.) (1993). Irish Elections 1922-44: Results and Analysis. PSAI Press. ISBN 0-9519748-1-5. 
• Gallagher M. and M. Marsh (1988). Candidate selection in comparative perspective:The secret garden of politics. Sage,London. 

External links

• Michael Gallagher's TCD Website.
• Political Science at Trinity College, Dublin.
• Michael Gallagher's Electoral Systems web site with a variety of datasets and some tools for calculating disproportionality.
• Cover art, for a selection of Michael Gallagher's books.