Professor Matt Qvortrup

An award winning writer, broadcaster, and academic Matt Qvortrup, earned his doctorate in political science at Oxford University. He got his first chair in political science aged 36, and now teaches political theory at LUISS in Rome, and he is an adjunct professor at The Australian National University.

Described by The Financial Times as "a world authority on referendums", his work straddles philosophy, politics, and social neuroscience . His author of more than 15 single authored books include 'I Want to Break Free: A Practical Guide to Making a New Country' (Manchester University Press 2022), Death By A Thousand Cuts (DeGruyter 2023), and The Political Brain (CEU Press 2024).  

A frequent presenter of the BBC Radio4's Analysis Programme, he writes a regular column for Philosophy Now, and he has written for The LA Times, The Guardian, El Pais, and Newsweek. 

From 2016-2023 he was editor-in-chief of European Political Science Review.  

His acclaimed biography Angela Merkel: Europe's Most Influential Leader (2016) was translated into Chinese, Korean, Russian. His best-selling book Great Minds on Small Things (Duckworth 2023) is being translated into Spanish in 2025. 

In addition to being a writer and academic, Professor Qvortrup has served as a diplomat in Africa as part of Barack Obama's Envoy for Africa Team, and as a mediator for the United Nations in Papua New Guinea.