Michael Hansen
Ph.D Political Science
michael.hansen@utu.fi Publicum Office: 286 ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5116-5751 |
Political Behavior; Political Attitudes; European Politics; American Politics; Radical Right Parties; Gender and Politics; Methodology - Quantitative & Qualitative
I am a first generation scholar that obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. At Milwaukee I studied American politics, comparative politics, and political methodology. While completing my graduate studies, I had the opportunity to be employed as a teaching assistant at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) methodological summer camp.
Following the completion of my Ph.D., I held a postdoctoral fellowship in Political Behavior at Lund University in Sweden where I taught methodology and published on political behavior. Prior to my appointment at the University of Turku, I had a tenure track professor position in the United States. In this position, I was elected to prominent leadership roles on campus, such as the Chair of the Faculty Senate. In my previous position, I taught on a range of topics; including political methodology, American politics, European politics, and comparative politics.
My research interests include political behavior in the United States and Europe. In particular, much of my research focuses on underrepresented groups in these regions and political movements that target minority groups. The focus of my dissertation was on the electoral behavior of individuals that cast a vote for populist radical right political parties throughout Europe. I find that institutional structures, individual attitudes, and macro-social forces combine to explain vote choice through the use of a comprehensive empirical model.
I continue to research European political behavior and have published in journals such as Comparative European Politics, Social Science Quarterly, German Politics, German Politics & Society, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, and Party Politics. The topics I published on have included radical right party voting behavior, radical left party voting behavior, the impact of Chancellor candidates in German politics, attitudes towards social policy and sexual behavior, and attitudes towards democracy. I currently have research under review on these topics and a book contract on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party.
Additionally, a substantial amount of my current research explores gender and politics. I have published articles in journals such as Politics and Gender, Journal of Women, Politics, & Policy, Political Research Quarterly, Political Behavior, and American Politics Research on gendered politics. The topics I have published on include attitudes towards the #MeToo movement, perceptions of women candidates' underrepresentation in elected office, the gender gap in political knowledge, the gender gap in voting for radical right parties, and the gender gap in the use of force in conflicts. A lot of my work in this area demonstrates the ever important role that partisanship plays in the subfield.
I have recently been interested in exploring topics within the field of criminal justice. I have published a study on law enforcement transparency in Policing: An International Journal. I have also published on the role of political ideology and attitudes towards police in the same journal. In addition, I have publicatios in Crime & Delinquency and the Journal of Experimental Criminology that explored racial, gender, and partisan gaps in support for policing and correctional reforms and views on officer involved shootings. Currently, I have a manuscript under review that investigates rape myth acceptance among university students.
Another newer research area of interest involves views on sex work. I have published an article in The Journal of Sex Research that explores how survey question wording impacts views on sex work. A study in Sexuality and Culture explores individual level associations with the exchange of sexual services for payment and a range of activities. I also currently have research under review that explores positive and negative associations with the sex industry.
I teach mainly the methodology courses at the advanced Bachelor's level and the Master's level; including both quantative and qualitative methodologies. In my courses, I emphasize that the research question should determine the methodological tool that a student utlizes rather than a student developing a research agenda to implement a specific method.
Pedagogical Approaches
Quantitative methodological courses in particular have a tendency to be intimidating to students due to the difficulty of learning the intricacies of a statistical software platform. Learning any statistical software platform requires consistent and diverse modes of practice akin to learning a language. Therefore, an effective instructor must provide ample opportunities to engage with the platform and implement the quantitative techniques. This requires the utilization of several pedagogical approaches. The pedagogical approaches that I utilize include traditional facilitated learning, inquiry-based, constructivist, and collaborative pedagogical approaches - highlighted above and summarized below.
- Traditional facilitated learning - Material is introduced through assigned readings and lectures.
- Inquiry-Based - Students are provided clearly defined, structured activities.
- Constructivist - Students are tasked with developing their own research activities.
- Collaborative - Students are assigned to work in teams to develop research activities.
Pedagogical Training:
- Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Course Completion
- LGBTQIA+ Safe Zone Training - Designated Ally
- Culture and Diversity in the Classroom
- Teaching and Learning Online I
- Teaching and Learning Online II - Quality Matters Online Reviewer
- Community-Based Learning Training
- High-Impact Practices in the Classroom Training
- Could the AfD be banned from participating in German elections? (2024) Hansen Michael A.
(Popularised article or blog post (E1)) - Political Entrepreneurship in the Age of Dealignment: The Populist Far-right Alternative for Germany (2024) Hansen Michael A., Olsen Jonathan
(Refereed scientific book or report (C1)) - Predicting Attitudes Towards the Exchange of Sexual Services for Payment: Variance in Gender Gaps Across the Nordic Countries (2024)
- Sexuality Research and Social Policy
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Young people’s support for the Finns Party: An incomplete story (2024)
- Politiikasta.fi
(Popularised article or blog post (E1)) - Asking About “Prostitution”, “Sex Work” and “Transactional Sex”: Question Wording and Attitudes Toward Trading Sexual Services (2023)
- Journal of Sex Research
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Bad apples or rotten orchards? Public attitudes of interactions with police and the role of political ideology (2023)
- Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Book Review: Contemporary Germany and the Fourth Wave of Far-Right Politics (2023)
- Party Politics
(Article or data-article in scientific journal (B1)) - From Empowerment to Exploitation: Predicting Positive and Negative Associations with the Exchange of Sexual Services for Payment (2023)
- Sexuality and Culture
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Gender, Political Resources, and Expressions of Democratic Evaluations (2023)
- Journal of Women, Politics and Policy
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Identity and Belonging: Emotional Assimilation in Two Immigrant Communities in Germany (2023)
- Journal of International Migration and Integration
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Is it Black and White? Testing racial framing effects of public reactions to newspaper vignettes of fatal officer‐involved shootings (2023)
- Journal of Experimental Criminology
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - “Please don’t be too nice”: the role of political ideology in the approval of police use of force (2023)
- Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Support for Gun Reform in the United States: The Interactive Relationship Between Partisanship and Trust in the Federal Government (2023)
- Political Behavior
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - The Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the 2021 Federal Election: Down But Hardly Out (2023) The 2021 German Federal Election Hansen Michael A., Olsen Jonathan
(Book chapter (B2)) - What Sex Workers Do: Associations Between the Exchange of Sexual Services for Payment and Sexual Activities (2023)
- Sexuality and Culture
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Assessing law enforcement websites: a comparative analysis exploring types, quantity and quality of information available (2022)
- Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - A Tale of Two Electorates? - The 2021 Federal Election and the AfD Voter in East and West (2022)
- German Politics and Society
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Book Review: Radical right populism in Germany: AfD, pegida, and the identitarian movement (2022)
- Party Politics
(Article or data-article in scientific journal (B1)) - Cross-Pressures on Political Attitudes: Gender, Party, and the #MeToo Movement in the United States (2022)
- Political Behavior
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Gender and Racial Gaps in Support for Policing and Correctional Reforms: Are the Gaps a Consequence of Political Partisanship? (2022)
- Crime and Delinquency
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))