As a political scientist I work on democratic representation and its failures, with a focus on the relationship between citizens and politics, electoral systems and party competition, social and political conflict in Europe, France and Germany in particular.

I am Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics (tenured) at the American University of Paris and also an Associate Researcher at Sciences Po Paris and at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB, Center for Civil Society Research).

Trained at Sciences Po Paris (PhD), my academic path has taken me through the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence where I was awarded a Max Weber Fellowship and the University of Oxford, Nuffield College & Department of Politics and International Relations (OxPo Fellow). Before joining AUP, I was a Researcher and Lecturer (Habilitationsstelle) at Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Social and Political Science and chercheuse invitée at the Paris School of Economics (invited by Jean-François Laslier and Thomas Piketty). 

I have an interdisciplinary background, holding degrees in Political Science, Economics and Empirical Social and Political Analysis. My work bridges these fields to show how, and why, democratic systems succeed or fail to represent those they govern.

My current research includes three research clusters:
(1) Failing representation in Europe - citizens' perspective
(2) The conflict on human values in Europe
(3) Collaborative projects with Political Scientists (e.g. Sciences Po, Freie Universität Berlin/WZB, University of Stockholm/Copenhagen) and Economists (e.g. Paris School of Economics/Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris), member of the Democracy Forum (European University Institute, Florence)
Most recent publications - lectures - outreach:

"European integration and EU enlargement: Public Opinion, Policy (and Politics?)", lecture for the European Academy of Diplomacy and the EU Diplomatic Programme for the Enlargement Region (EUDP), supported by the European Commission, College of Europe, Bruges, December 2025.

Dageförde, Mirjam (2024): Do they get close? Party shifts and changes in parliamentary congruence on multiple issue dimensions in the wake of the crises. In: Representation 60 (3): 507-533. 

Jérôme Lang, Jean-François Laslier, Mirjam Dageförde (2025): Élections : pourquoi la proportionnelle à l’allemande devrait inspirer la France. In: The Conversation France. 20 février 2025.

"The conflict of human values in Europe", lecture on invitation of the Fondation Saint Omer Valeurs Transatlantiques, February 2025.

Dageförde, Mirjam (2024): Repräsentation und das Verhältnis von Bürgern und Politik in Deutschland und Frankreich. In: Die Gesellschaften Europas und ihre Zukunft. Ein Blick auf die Herausforderungen unserer Zeit. Frankreich Jahrbuch 2023. Eds: Deutsch-Französisches Institut Ludwigsburg; Stefan Seidendorf. Baden-Baden: Nomos, S. 185-204.