Fritz Plasser

Fritz Plasser is professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck and director of the Institute for Applied Political Research in Vienna. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a political pollster and as head of the research department of the Austrian People’s Party in Vienna. In 2000–01, he was Fahrenkopf-Manatt Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Political Management at the George Washington University. He has been author, co-author or editor of 28 books and has published widely on campaigns, elections and the media from a comparative perspective. His recent English language publications include Global Political Campaigning: A Worldwide Analysis of Campaign Professionals and Their Practices and Political Parties and Electoral Change: Party Responses to Electoral Markets. In German language he recently edited the Handbook of Political Communication in Austria. His current research interest is a comparative study of postmodern media logic — assessing American and European political journalists’ changing quality standards.