Department of Political Science

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Scott Pruysers

Associate Professor

Scott P.
Department of Political Science

Email: Scott.Pruysers@dal.ca
Phone: (902) 494-6626
Mailing Address: 
Department of Political Science Rm 301, 3rd Floor, Henry Hicks Bldg Dalhousie University, 6283 Alumni Crescent, PO Box 15000 Halifax, NS B3H 4R2
 
Research Topics:
  • Canadian Politics
  • Political Parties and Party Systems
  • Political Psychology and Political Behaviour
  • Federalism
  • Gender and Representation

Website:www.scottpruysers.com

Education: B.A. (Waterloo), M.A. (Waterloo), PhD (Carleton)

Short Biography:

Before joining Dalhousie University, I held a postdoctoral fellowship at Ryerson University as a member of the Canadian Municipal Election Study (CMES), and completed a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary.  I am also an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University. I have degrees from Carleton (PhD) and the University of Waterloo (MA and BA). 

My research focusses on Canadian politics broadly and my specific interests include intra-party democracy, party organization, and political psychology. In general, my research focusses on questions of participation and representation in party and electoral politics. I have written on a variety of topics including multi-level party integration, party personnel selection, personality and politics, candidate recruitment, and political ambition. My research has appeared in a variety of leading national and international journals such as Party Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Representation, Regional & Federal Studies, and Politics & Gender​. 

My recent books include The Political Party in Canada (UBC Press, 2022), The Personalization of Democratic Politics and the Challenge for Political Parties (Rowman Littlefield Press, 2018), and The Promise and Challenge of Party Primary Elections (McGill-Queens, 2016). 

Selected Publications

Pruysers, Scott. 2023. “Sour Grapes? Party Donors and Canadian Leadership Primaries.” Government and Opposition. Online First.  

Pruysers, Scott, and Julie Blais. 2023. “Fair-Weather Voters: Personality and Vote Switching Intentions.” Political Studies Review. Online First. 

Pruysers, Scott. 2021. “A Psychological Predisposition Towards Populism?” Contemporary Politics 27(1): 105-124. 

O’Neill, Brenda, Scott Pruysers, and David Stewart. 2021. “Glass Cliffs or Partisan Pressure? Examining Gender and Party Leader Tenures and Exits. Political Studies 69(2): 257-277.  

Cross, William and Scott Pruysers. 2019. “The Local Determinants of Representation: Constituency Associations, Candidate Nomination, and Gender.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 52(3): 557-574.   

Pruysers, Scott and Julie Blais. 2017. “Why Won’t Lola Run? An Experiment Examining Stereotype Threat and Political Ambition.” Politics & Gender 13(2): 232-252.