Sarah Birch

Before coming to Glasgow, Sarah Birch taught at the University of Essex for 17 years. For ten years (2002-2011) she was also co-editor of the British Journal of Political Science. She has three principal research interests: electoral malpractice, ethical conduct in public life and environmental politics.

Over the course of the past ten years, her main research programme has been the comparative study of electoral malpractice. In addition to her academic work, Professor Birch has also taken part in electoral assistance and training activities around the world, including projects for the OSCE, the UNDP, International IDEA, USAID and the UK Electoral Commission.

Her report on compulsory voting for young voters, in association with think tank IPPR, will be published in September 2013.