I'm a political scientist, studying conflict through the lenses of political communication and political psychology. I'm currently a postdoctoral researcher with the Research Priority Area (RPA) "Conflict & Society" at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). I hold a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Lausanne, a M.Sc. in Communication Science from the University of Amsterdam, and a MA in Political Science & International Relations from the University of Brussels. 

 

In my research I investigate how people perceive, evaluate, and react to hostile communication (e.g., negativity, incivility) in politics, why they sometimes find it acceptable and with what consequences for democratic functioning.

 

During my PhD, I focused on elite incivility - i.e., the use of disrespectful rhetoric by politicians - and examined how its perceptions vary depending on individual differences, situational cues, and broader political-cultural and institutional contexts. ​You can find my dissertation here. Building on this work, my current research uses survey and experimental methods to investigate the psychological predispositions and social conditions that drive citizens toward tolerance - or even endorsement - of political violence. You can find an example of this work here.

 

My work has been published in journals such as Political Psychology, The Journal of Politics, and the International Journal of Communication. I am a co-author of the book The Psychology of Attack Politics: Perceptions, Evaluations, and Effects (with Alessandro Nai and Lukas P. Otto; Routledge, 2025). You can find all my published work here and read more about my research agenda here. ​​​​