Grant Durow

I am currently a first-year PhD student studying comparative politics with a regional focus on Western Europe and Australia. My research interests center the development of right-wing populist political parties and their influence on mainstream politics, particularly in relation to globalization. I am especially interested in why right-wing populists appear to gain significant traction in certain countries, such as France, Austria, and the Netherlands, whereas they have historically failed to be as influential in countries like Ireland and Australia. I am similarly interested in investigating the influence of migration and religious institutions on the development of partisan cleavages in EU countries.

I hold a BA in Government, French, and Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin where I have previously done research on Australian politics as Clark Scholar at the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies. I additionally wrote my undergraduate thesis on the mainstreaming of right-wing populist political rhetoric in France and Australia which won UT's William Jennings Bryan Prize for best undergraduate thesis in Government. I also spent the 2022-2023 academic year as an English teaching assistant in Lille, France.