SP

Dr. Simon Primus

Chair of Comparative Politics and European Governance

Research associates

Address

Kochstraße 4 91054 Erlangen

Contact

I studied Political Science at LMU Munich (BA 2011, MA 2014, Dr. rer. soc. 2021) and the University of Ghana (MPhil 2015). My research focuses on the cross-national comparison of political regimes and political behavior, primarily using survey data. A particular focus is on Africa and on the relationship between people and changing political institutions. In a paper published in Democratization in 2025, I showed that support for the military coup in Mali was motivated less by economic grievances than by decolonial narratives. Geopolitical worldviews and their links to political attitudes and political divides are a central theme of my current research. A working paper based on our EUROPOLVER surveys shows that traditional goals of development cooperation tend to polarize public opinion in Germany and Austria, while geostrategic EU engagement in Africa attracts support across ideological divides. Further work from the EUROPOLVER project with Sandra Eckert and Constantin Wurthmann examines how evaluations of the European Commission can mobilize voter turnout and how attitudes towards climate policy shaped vote choice in the 2024 European Parliament elections. My teaching focuses on empirical methods, the global comparison of political regimes, and African Politics. Beyond academia, I worked in civic education for several years, developing projects with a range of organizations in democratic education and education for sustainable development, including workshops in schools, political city tours, and Hip-Hop sessions in youth centres.

  • Since 10/2022: Assistant Professor. Chair of Comparative Politics (Prof. Dr. Sandra Eckert), Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nuremberg
  • 10/2021 - 9/2022: Assistant Professor. Chair for Empirical Political Research and Policy Analysis (Prof. Dr. Paul W. Thurner), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
  • 11/2021: PhD in Political Science. University of Munich (LMU), Germany. Dissertation: Identity, Poverty, and Electoral Accountability in Africa’s Democracies: A Comparative Study. Main Supervisor: Prof. Paul W. Thurner
  • 11/2016 - 2/2017: Field research on Ghana's Dec 2016 election as a research associate at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), Accra, Ghana.
  • 11/2015 - 10/2018: PhD Study Grant from the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (Foundation of the German Economy)
  • 2012 - 2014: Student research assistant at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), Accra, Ghana
  • 2012 - 2015: Study of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana (M.Phil 2015)
  • 2010 - 2012: Student research assistant at the Chair for Global Governance and Public Policy (Prof. Dr. Bernhard Zangl), University of Munich (LMU), Germany
  • 2008 - 2014: Study of Political Science at the University of Munich (LMU), Germany (BA 2011; MA 2014)

  • Democracy and Democratization
  • Political attitudes and Political Behavior
  • Voting Behaviour and Electoral Accountability
  • sub-Saharan Africa
  • Quantitative Methods and Survey-Data

Articles in Refereed Journals

Other Publications

  • Primus, Simon.  2021. Identity, Poverty, and Electoral Accountability in Africa’s Democracies: A Comparative Study. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • Primus, Simon, Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi. 2018. Dedicated Democrats against the Global Trend? Attitudes towards Democracy in Africa. International Reports (Ai) 2018 (4): 48-59.
  • Primus, Simon. 2016. Opposition in Ghana. Starke Strukturen - Aber reicht es für Die Macht?”. Afrika-Bulletin 162: 6-7.
  • Primus, Simon. 2015. Africa’s Political Culture(s): A Comparative Analysis of the Role of Political Attitudes and Values in Africa’s Democratisation. MPhil Thesis. University of Ghana.
  • Primus, Simon. 2015. Economic Voting in Ghana. An in-Depth Study of the Economic Factor in African Elections. Muenchener Beitraege zur Politikwissenschaft.

Conference Papers

  • Primus, Simon, Sandra Eckert, and Constantin Wurthmann. 2026. Green Transition on the Ballot? The Impact of Green Issue Orientations on Party Choice in the 2024 EP Elections. Paper presented at the European Political Science Society (EPSS) Annual Conference, 18–20 June 2026, Belfast, UK.
  • Primus, Simon. 2024. Identity Salience: A Neglected Dimension in the Measurement of Ethnic Divisions? Paper presented at the 2024 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (APSA), September 5–8, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • Primus, Simon. 2024. Everyday Shortages, Performance Perceptions, and Accountability in Africa. Poster presented at the 2024 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (APSA), September 5–8, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • Primus, Simon. 2023. Patterns of Polarization in Africa. Ethnicity and Partisan Gaps in Performance Perceptions. Presentation: Conference: Social Cohesion amidst the Global Polycrisis, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), 6–8 November 2023, Bonn, Germany.
  • Primus, Simon. 2023. Ethnicity and Partisan Bias in African Survey Data: A Cross-National Overview. Poster presented at the 2023 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (APSA), August 31–September 3, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • Primus, Simon, and Gildfred Asiamah. 2019. Voting for Development. How the Supply of Developmental Goods drives Electoral Dynamics in Ghana. Paper presented at the 3rd Ghana Studies Triennial Conference, 10-13 July 2019, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
  • Primus, Simon, Gildfred Asiamah, Mohammed Awal, and Edem Selormey. 2018. Not Ethnic but Partisan Voting. Identity and Electoral Accountability in Ghana’s 2016 Election. Paper presented at the 76th Annual MPSA Conference, April 5-8, 2018, Chicago, USA.
  • Primus, Simon. 2017. Government Performance and Retrospective Voting in Africa. A Comparative Perspective. Paper presented at the 75th Annual MPSA Conference, April 6-9, 2017, Chicago, USA.
  • Primus, Simon. 2015. The Power of Performance: The remarkable Effect of Performance Perceptions on Ghanaian Voting Intentions. Paper presented at the Afrobarometer Summer School 2015, University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa.