Peter Mair (3 March 1951 – 15 August 2011) was an Irish

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He was professor of

Comparative Politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

at the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

Career

Peter Mair was born in

Rosses Point The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe, ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and studied history and politics at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. He continued to work as assistant professor at the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the

in Florence during the 1980s. In 1987 at Leiden University he gained a doctorate, which as ''The changing Irish party system'' became a standard work on the Irish party system. In 1990, he co-authored the book ''Identity, Competition and Electoral Availability'' with Stefano Bartolini. It was awarded the ISSC/

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research. He continued to work at Leiden University becoming professor of comparative politics in 1994 when he held an inaugural address entitled "Party democracies and their difficulties". In 2001 he became co-editor of the journal ''

West European Politics ''West European Politics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of comparative politics focusing on Western Europe. It was established in 1978 and serves as one of the main publication venues in that field. Its founding editors-in-chief were Vince ...

''. In 2005 he returned to the

to invest time in his research into democracy, indifference and

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

parties. He specialized in comparative politics and specifically in the study of

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

and

party system A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stab ...

s. Mair died suddenly while on holiday in

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

with his family.

Publications

Books

* Mair, Peter; Bartolini, Stefano (1990). ''Identity, Competition, and Electoral Availability: the stabilisation of European electorates 1885–1985'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, Cambridge. * Mair, Peter (1997). ''Party System Change: approaches and interpretations'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Oxford. * Mair, Peter; Zielonka, Jan (2002). ''The Enlarged European Union: Diversity and Adaptation'', Frank Cass, London. * Mair, Peter (2004). ''Political Parties and Electoral Change: Party Responses to Electoral Markets'', Müller WC, Plasser F (eds.), Sage, London. * Mair, Peter; Gallagher, Michael; Laver, Michael (2005). ''Representative Government in Modern Europe: Institutions, Parties, and Governments'',

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...

, New York, 4th edition. * Mair, Peter; Kopecky, Petr; Spirova, Maria (2012). ''Party Patronage and Party Government in European Democracies'', Oxford University Press, Oxford. * Mair, Peter (2013). ''Ruling The Void: The Hollowing Of Western Democracy'', Verso Books, New York and London.

Journal articles

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mair, Peter 1951 births 2011 deaths Academics of the University of Limerick Alumni of University College Dublin European University Institute faculty Irish political scientists Populism scholars Leiden University alumni Leiden University faculty Winners of the Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research