Heike Klüver

I am a Full professor and Chair of Comparative Political Behavior at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Director of the Humboldt Governance Lab and Spokesperson of the DFG Research Training Group DYNAMICS. I previously held positions as Full professor and Chair of Comparative Politics at the University of Hamburg, as Professor of Empirical Political Science at the University of Bamberg, as Junior Professor at the University of Konstanz and as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Mannheim.

My research focuses on political behavior, electoral competition and governmental policy and relies on quantitative and experimental methods. Please find further information about myself and my research on this website.

recent publications

The Youth Gender Gap in Support for the Far Right

Ðorđe Milosav, Zachary Dickson, Sara B. Hobolt, Heike Klüver, Theresa Kuhn, and Toni Rodon

Journal of European Public Policy, Mar 2025

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The 2024 European Parliament election showcased a surprising new trend. While progressive parties have traditionally done well among younger voters, it was far-right parties that enjoyed unprecedented electoral support among young voters in the 2024 EP elections. Analyzing data from the European Election Studies (EES) 2024, covering 27 countries and almost 25,000 voters, this paper shows that there is a sizable gender gap in voting for the far right. The electoral success of far-right parties among young voters is primarily driven by the support of young men, peaking at over 21% of all young men in 2024 compared to only about 14% among women of the same age cohort. Descriptive analyses from the EES shows that this gap can partially be explained by attitudinal differences, with young women holding more socially progressive views than young men. Age-Period-Cohort models based on EES data covering eight elections from 1989 to 2024 further reveal that this gender gap is greatest for Millennials and Generation Z. Since political attitudes and voting behaviour during the formative years may have a long-lasting effect on voting patterns and attitudes later in life, our findings have important implications for the future of European democracies.
Benchmarking Pandemic Response: How the UK’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Impacted Diffuse and Specific Support for the EU

Irene Rodríguez, Toni Rodon, Asli Unan, Lisa Herbig, Heike Klüver, and Theresa Kuhn

British Journal of Political Science, Mar 2025

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Does the EU’s performance compared to neighboring countries influence public support? Using a benchmarking approach, we argue that people compare their country’s performance within the EU to that of a non-EU country, shaping their attitudes. The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in 2020 provides an ideal test case, as governments launched vaccination programs at different speeds. The UK began weeks before EU countries, allowing us to examine its impact on EU support. Using an Unexpected Event during Surveys Design (UESD) with Eurobarometer data, we find that the UK’s early rollout significantly reduced specific policy support for the EU but did not consistently affect diffuse support. Our findings offer key insights into attitudes toward European integration and performance evaluations.