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Biography
William T. Daniel is Associate Professor of Comparative Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the 海角黑料 (UK). He also serves as Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing Engagement for the Faculty of Social Sciences. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he teaches modules in comparative politics and research methods.
Before joining Nottingham, Will was Assistant Professor of Political Science at Francis Marion University in South Carolina (USA). He earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013, where he was affiliated with the European Union Center of Excellence and held visiting doctoral studentships at Sciences Po - Paris, Universit茅 Libre de Bruxelles, and KU Leuven.
He also holds an MA in Political Science and Graduate Certificates in European Union Studies and Western European Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, a BA in French and Political Science from Wake Forest University, and has studied at The German School at Middlebury College.
Expertise Summary
Will's research focuses on comparative politics, with particular expertise in legislative politics, political parties, political careers, and the politics of representation in Europe. His work centres on how identities-especially gender and sexuality-shape political recruitment, behaviour, and representation. He is deeply involved in international research networks on gender and politics, the European Union, legislative studies, digital campaigning, and political career development, and has particular subject expertise on the European Parliament and French politics.
In 2025, Will undertook a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship for his project . His recent book, Gender Quotas as Game Changers for the Recruitment, Selection, and Performance of Elected Politicians (with Andrea Aldrich), was published by Oxford University Press in 2025. His first monograph, Career Behaviour and the European Parliament: All Roads Lead through Brussels?, also appeared with Oxford University Press in 2015.
He has published in leading journals including The Journal of Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, European Union Politics, Politics & Gender, West European Politics, Party Politics, Journal of European Integration, Journal of Legislative Studies, and JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. His methodological expertise spans advanced quantitative analysis, original dataset construction through manual coding, and qualitative interviewing and archival work across several national legislatures, including research conducted in French and German.
Will is an active member of the European Consortium for Political Research's Standing Groups on Politics and Gender, the European Union, and Parliaments, and regularly presents at ECPR, UACES, EUSA, and EPSA/EPSS conferences. He also reviews widely for journals, funding bodies such as ESRC, FNRS, and SNSF, academic publishers, and prize committees.
From 2020-24, he held leadership roles in the Research Centre for Parties and Democracy (REPRESENT), including serving as Co鈥慏irector. His administrative experience complements his academic profile, including his current role as Director of Student Recruitment for the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Teaching Summary
At the 海角黑料, Will regularly provides teaching on the following modules:
- POLI 1014 - Intro to Comparative Politics
- POLI 2014 - The Transformation of European Politics
- POLI 2047 - How Voters Decide
- POLI 3121 - Gender and Political Representation
- POLI 3137 - Inside Out: the UK and the EU
Current students can book on for office hours during term time, using the .
Research Summary
Will's current research continues to examine the nexus between political institutions and individual behaviour in political representation. Ongoing work addresses these dynamics for gender and… read more
Selected Publications
WILLIAM T DANIEL and LUKAS OBHOLZER, 2026. West European Politics. 49(1), 293-319
ANDREA S ALDRICH and WILLIAM T DANIEL, 2025. Oxford University Press.
WILLIAM T DANIEL, ELISE FRELIN, MAX-VALENTIN ROBERT and LAURENCE ROWLEY-ABEL, 2025. West European Politics. 48(3), 590-617
ANDREA S ALDRICH and WILLIAM T DANIEL, 2024. The Journal of Politics. 86(2), 798-803
Current Research
Will's current research continues to examine the nexus between political institutions and individual behaviour in political representation. Ongoing work addresses these dynamics for gender and representation, digital campaigning, and political careers.
Drawing upon novel data collected on the 2022 French legislative elections for a -funded research package that he led from 2022-23, he is currently focussing on the determinants of online campaigning behaviour, examining the role of political experience, personal background, and partisanship with , , and . In EU politics, he is working on a related new study of cross-platform social media campaigning during the 2024 European Parliament elections with and a separate study of demographic 'fit' in candidate selection with . He recently completed an article on the importance of individual background for Commission cabinets with and is now exploring the importance of individual background on policy creation in the European Parliament, using similar methods.
Past Research
Will recently completed a book manuscript, Gender Quotas as Game Changers for the Recruitment, Selection, and Performance of Elected Politicians, with , on the effect of gender quota implementation on political career trajectories in Europe. It was published by Oxford University Press in 2025. In 2024, he provided evidence to the Welsh Senedd's Reform Bill Committee that draws upon this work.
Will's first book, Career Behaviour and the European Parliament: All Roads Lead through Brussels?, was published by Oxford University Press in 2015. The project explores institutional change in the European Parliament and its effect on the career paths of its membership. To do so, he examines the role of legislative professionalization and national political party gatekeepers on the career behavior and advancement strategies of European Parliament legislators.
Related research on the legislative behavior of Members of the European Parliament that builds on this volume has appeared in JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, European Union Politics, Party Politics, Journal of European Integration, The Journal of European Public Policy, The Journal of Legislative Studies, Research & Politics, Politics & Gender, The Journal of Politics, West European Politics, and in the form of various ongoing working papers and book chapters.
Future Research
Will was awarded a for 2025, which he used to launch new research on how shared personal experience among politicians from marginalised or minoritised backgrounds can foster communities of support to reach across political party differences.
Queering the Commons: Overcoming polarisation with identity-based connections, explores how shared membership in LGBTQIA+ legislative parliamentary networks within four prominent European legislatures (UK House of Commons, Scottish Parliament, French National Assembly, and the European Parliament) affects the day-to-day behaviour of legislators from different ideological backgrounds. The project takes inspiration from scholarship on ethnic and gender identity's effects on political behaviour that has been less explored for sexuality. It argues that identities that divide us in one setting might bind us in another.
He also served as the lead applicant on a successful to support a year-long visit from to the School of Politics and IR for academic year 2024-25. Under Will's coordination, Trish has shared her expertise and research with students and colleagues from the REPRESENT network on a new project entitled, AI Campaigning In The 2024 US And UK Elections.