Research

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Please contact me at zsomer@utexas.edu for replication files

 (* Graduate Student, # Undergraduate Student)

Books:

(1) Aldrich, Andrea and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2025. Glass Ceilings, Glass Cliffs, and Quicksands: Gendered Party Leadership in Parliamentary Systems. Cambridge University Press.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

(1) Cozza, Joseph, Gonzalo di Landro*, Andrea Aldrich, and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “A Rainbow Ceiling? Sexual Orientation and Party Leader Legitimacy.” Forthcoming in the British Journal of Political Science.

(2) Amini, Arash, Yigit Ege Bayiz*, Eun-Ju Lee, Zeynep Somer-Topcu, Radu Marculescu, Ufuk Topcu. “How Media Competition Fuels the Spread of Misinformation.” Science Advances 11(25). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adu7743

(3) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep, Patrick Fournier, Ruth Dassonneville. 2025. “Perceptual Accuracy and Issue Saliency.” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2024.2395349

(4) Adams, James, Luca Bernardi, Lawrence Ezrow, and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2023. “Why Parties Gain Votes When the Public Perceives Them Shifting to the Right.” Political Studies 72(3): 1203-1222. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217231178979

(5) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Margit Tavits. 2023. “Message Distortion as a Campaign Strategy: Does Rival Party Distortion of Focal Party Position Affect Voters?” Journal of Politics 85(3): 892-904.  https://doi.org/10.1086/723817

(6) Dassoneville, Ruth, Patrick Fournier, and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2023. “Partisan Attachments in a Multi-Dimensional Space.” West European Politics. 46(4): 678-704. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2087387

(7) Liu, Amy H., Michael G. Findley, David Leal, Raúl L. Madrid, Eric L. McDaniel, God’swill Osa,* Tasha Philpot, Brooke Shannon,* Zeynep Somer-Topcu, and Chris Wlezien. 2023. “Normalizing Diversity in Merit Review Forms.” PS: Political Science and Politics 56(1): 123-127. https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S1049096522000920

(8) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Daniel Weitzel*. 2022. “Valence Rhetoric and Vote Choice: How do Valence Attacks Affect Vote Choice?” Comparative Political Studies. 55(13): 2283-2310. https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140221074283

(9) Cozza, Joseph* and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2021. “Membership Vote for Party Leadership Changes: Electoral Effects and the Causal Mechanisms Behind.” Electoral Studies 71.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2021.102326

(10) Jung, Jae-Hee and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall? The Effects of Parties’ Brexit Rhetoric on Voters’ Perceptions of Party Positions.” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. Online published on November 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2020.1839470

(11) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep, Margit Tavits, and Markus Baumann. “Does Party Rhetoric Affect Voter Perceptions of Party Positions.” Electoral Studies. Online Published on April 9, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102153

(12) Fernandez-Vazquez , Pablo and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2019. “The Informational Role of Party Leader Changes on Voter Perceptions of Party Positions.” British Journal of Political Science 49(3): 977-996.

• Link to the presentation at CSDC (McGill) in April 2016.

(13) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. 2017. “Agree or Disagree: How do Party Leader Changes Affect the Distribution of Voters’ Perceptions.” Party Politics 23(1): 66-75.  [link] 

(14) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. 2015. “Everything to Everyone: The Electoral Consequences of the Broad-Appeal Strategy in Europe.” American Journal of Political Science 59(4): 841-854. [link] [Replication Data from Dataverse]

(15) Adams, James, Lawrence Ezrow and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2014. “Do Voters Respond to Party Manifestos or to a Wider Information Environment? An Analysis of Mass-elite Linkages on European Integration” American Journal of Political Science 58(4): 967-978..[link] [Replication Data from Dataverse]

(16) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Laron Williams. 2014. “Opposition Party Policy Shifts in Response to No-Confidence Motions.” European Journal of Political Research 53(3): 600-616.[link]

(17)  Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Michelle Zar#. 2014. “European Parliamentary Elections and National Party Policy Change.” Comparative Political Studies 47: 878-902.[link]

(18) Adams, James, Lawrence Ezrow, Samuel Merill III, and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2013. “Does Collective Responsibility for Performance Alter Party Strategies? Policy-Seeking Parties in Proportional Systems?” British Journal of Political Science 43(1): 1-23.[link]   

(19) Bawn, Kathleen and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2012. “Government versus Opposition at the Polls: How Governing Status Affects the Impact of Policy Positions.” American Journal of Political Science 56(2): 433-446. [link]

• Winner of the 2013 Jack Walker Outstanding Article Award   

(20) Adams, James, Lawrence Ezrow, and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2011. “Is Anybody Listening? Evidence that Voters do not Respond to European Parties’ Policy Programmes.” American Journal of Political Science 55(2): 370-382.[link]

• Winner of the 2012 American Journal of Political Science Best Article Award   

(21)  Maoz, Zeev and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2010. “Polarization and Political Stability in Multiparty Systems (1945-1998).” British Journal of Political Science 40(4): 805-833.[link] 

(22)  Adams, James and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2009. “Do Parties Adjust Their Policies in Response to Rival Parties’ Policy Shifts? Spatial Theory and the Dynamics of Party Competition in Twenty-Five Postwar Democracies.” British Journal of Political Science 39: 825-846.[link]

(23) Adams, James and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. 2009. “Moderate Now, Win Votes Later:  The Electoral Consequences of Parties’ Policy Shifts in Twenty-Five Postwar Democracies.” Journal of Politics 71(2): 678-692. [link]

• Winner of the 2008 Leon Weaver Best Paper Award   

(24) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. 2009. “Timely Decisions: The Effects of Past National Elections on Party Policy.” Journal of Politics 71(1): 238-248.  [link]

(25) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Laron Williams. 2008. “Survival of the Fittest? Cabinet Duration in Post-Communist Europe.” Comparative Politics 40 (3): 313-329. [link]  

(1) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Daniel Weitzel. (In Press) “Leadership Turnovers and Their Electoral Consequences: A Social Democratic Exceptionalism?” In S. Hausermann and H. Kitschelt and (Eds.) Beyond Social Democracy: The Transformation of the Left in Emerging Knowledge Societies, Cambridge University Press. 

Under Contract:

Debus, Marc, Zeynep Somer-Topcu, and Margit Tavits, eds. Negative Campaigning in Europe. Under advanced contract with the Oxford University Press.

Revise and Resubmit and Under Review Manuscripts: 

Cakir, Semih, Oguzhan Alkan*, Ruth Dassonneville, Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “The Informational Environment and the Voters’ Perceptions of Parties’ Ideological Positions.” Revise & Resubmit at Political Behavior. 

Cozza, Joseph, Zeynep Somer-Topcu, Gonzalo di Landro*. “Leadership Election Competition and Leader Legitimacy.” Revise & Resubmit at European Journal of Political Research.

Dassonneville, Ruth, Patrick Fournier, Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “Do citizens perceive an empty left-authoritarian quadrant? Citizen perceptions of parties’ positions in a multi-dimensional space?” 

Dassonneville, Ruth, Patrick Fournier, Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “Citizens’ Perceptions of Parties’ Positions in a Multidimensional Space.” 

Work in Progress: 

Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Margit Tavits. “Party Message Distortion and Voter Perceptions of Party Positions in Multi-Party Systems.” 

Aldrich, Andrea, Joseph Cozza, Gonzalo di Landro*, and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “Gender, and Legitimacy in Party Leader Selection.” 

Nasr, Mohamed, Elizabeth N. Simas, Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “The Lady's not for Turning? Candidate Gender and Position Switching.” 

Curtis, Kendall* and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “Various Types of Snap Elections and the Responsible Party Performance.” 

Dassonneville, Ruth, Patrick Fournier, Jelle Koedam, Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “The Dimensionality of Party Competition as Seen by Citizens.”

Somer-Topcu, Zeynep, Ruth Dassonneville, and Patrick Fournier. “Voter perceptions of ambiguous party issue positions.”

Goes, Iasmin, Zeynep Somer-Topcu, Daniel Weitzel, and Elise Frelin. “Political Candidates on Twitter: How do social media campaigns respond to public preferences?”

(1) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. 2024. “Allan Sikk and Philipp Köker: Party people: candidates and party evolution.” European Political Science https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-024-00498-1(Book review)

(2) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. 2022. “The Cycle of Coalition: How Parties and Voters Interact Under Coalition Governance. By David Fortunato.” Perspectives on Politics 20(3): 1134-1136. 

(3) Jung, Jae-Hee and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. “Brexit: how intra-party unity helps voters understand and feel certain about party policy positions.” London School of Economics British Politics and Policy blog post. December 7, 2020, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/voter-perceptions-policy-positions/

(4)  Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. 2019. “Close to Home: Local Ties and Voting Radical Right in Europe. By Jennifer Fitzgerald.” Perspectives on Politics 17(2): 616-617.

(5) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep. "Can a New Leader Change a Party's Fortunes? How Leadership Changes Affect Voter Perceptions about Party Policy." London School of Economics EUROPP blog post. September 19, 2016.

(6) Somer-Topcu, Zeynep and Laron Williams. "Motions of No-Confidence Can Negatively Impact upon the Public’s View of the Government." London School of Economics Democratic Audit UK blog post. June 5, 2014.