Welcome!

I am Sofia Ammassari, an Italian political scientist based in Brisbane, Australia.

Before moving here in 2020 to do my PhD, I lived in New Delhi, working first for the European Union Delegation to India and later at Ashoka University. I was awarded my PhD in August 2023 from Griffith University, where I am currently a Research Fellow.

My main research interests are the populist radical right, women’s and youth political participation, and party organisation. I have published on these topics in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of Political Research, Political Studies, Politics and Gender and Party Politics.

I have two books coming out this year with Oxford University Press. The first, Grassroots Women in the Populist Radical Right, is based on my PhD thesis. The second, Youth Wings of the Populist Radical Right, is co-authored with Duncan McDonnell, Ann-Cathrine Jungar, Anders Jupskås and Cas Mudde.

In October 2025, with Duncan McDonnell and Ferran Martinez i Coma, I won over A$825,000 in funding from the Australian Research Council for our Discovery Project “Generation-Z engagement with political parties”. You can learn more about my work on this page, and view a list of my publications here.

Outside of work, I enjoy travelling, reading novels (currently Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami), listening to all sorts of music from ’60s rock to ’00s pop, hitting the gym, and trying out some cocktail recipes from my mixology books.