Professor Rodrigo Praino

Dr Rodrigo Praino is Professor of Politics and Public Policy and Director of the Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies. He holds a PhD in Political Science and has received several prestigious fellowships, scholarships and awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2018 he became the first political scientist to win a Tall Poppy Science Award for excellence is scientific research and communication.

Professor Praino is an expert in decision-making and political behaviour. For over a decade, he has conducted successful research on elections, focusing on how voters make decisions in a context of low-information. His publications in this area cover a wide range of issues, including the effect of political scandals and corruption, the political behavior of young voters, the political representation of women, and the role of candidate physical appearance.

Professor Praino is also one of the only scholars in Australia engaged in research on space politics and space policy. He is particularly interested in understanding and analysing the importance of space assets for defence, economic development, international relations, and decision-making. He is co-author of the book Power, State and Space: Conceptualizing, Measuring and Comparing Space Actors (Springer, 2023).

Professor Praino’s research has been published by top peer-reviewed academic journals in the Social Sciences, including Political Behavior, Leadership Quarterly, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, American Politics Research and Government and Opposition. It has attracted funding from various sources, including the Australian Research Council, SmartSat CRC, Defence, and UNICEF. It has also featured in major international media outlets, including the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Politico, the Times of India, the Pew Research Centre and the Herald Sun.