Griffith University Research Fellow Dr Ferran Martinez i Comais set to find himself in internationally esteemed company when he travels to the United States on a speaking trip this month.
Dr Martinez i Coma has been invited to speak at both the Organisation of American States and the US Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Researchas part of his week-long sojourn.
During his engagement at the OAS – an event to which he was the only academic invited – Dr Martinez i Coma will share a panel with former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla as well as Craig Jenness, the Director of Electoral Assistance at the Department of Political Affairs at the United Nations.
His presentation there will centre on research analysing the degree of implementation for more than 1000 recommendations in over 100 election observer missions that have been deployed by the organisation in the past 15 years.
At the Department of State, Dr Martinez i Coma will present on an article he is writing with fellow Griffith academic Dr Lee Morgenbesser, which analyses the reasons for voter turnout in authoritarian regimes by drawing on data from more than 400 elections in autocratic states since 1960.
Griffith Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) Professor Martin Betts said Dr Martinez i Coma’s invitation to the events is indicative of his impressive work ethic and reputation, and a boon for the university’s international standing as an incubator of remarkable research.
“As a member of the School of Government and International Relations academic staff and the Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Dr Martinez i Coma is a widely respected expert in the field of political science, with a renowned aptitude for the subject of electoral integrity,” Professor Betts said.
“His body of work as a researcher is formidable, having edited, authored or co-authored more than 30 publications since 2011, and we are deeply proud to see his knowledge and experience receive due attention on the world stage.”