Lala Muradova

I’m Associate Professor in Political Psychology at the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Southampton, UK. I’m also a member of the steering committee of the Centre for Democratic Futures and Centre for Behavioural Experimental Action and Research (C-BEAR).

My Cambridge Element book in Political Psychology “Empathy and Political Reasoning. How Empathy Promotes Reflection and Strengthens Democracy” (CUP, 2025) investigates the potential of empathy to motivate democratically better political reasoning in citizens.

I hold a PhD from the Centre for Political Science Research, KU Leuven (University of Leuven) (Belgium) (2021). My PhD thesis, awarded with the Best Political Science PhD in 2021 by Belgian and Dutch Political Science Associations, and the honorary mention of the Best Political Communication Dissertation Award of the APSA & ICA Political Communication Divisions 2021, combined survey and lab experiments with observational and qualitative data to gain insight into the processes underlying individuals’ political opinion formation.

My core research interests lie at the intersection of political psychology (emotions and political reasoning), political communication (interpersonal deliberation), and democratic innovations (citizens-centred political institutions, e.g. citizens’ assemblies, referendums). I’m, in particular, interested in public opinion on climate change and public support for pro-environmental policies and persuasion via narrative choose-your-own-adventure games.

I’m currently working on another book project (w/ Alberto Lopez) for Cambridge Elements in Gender and Politics. The Element investigates the role of politics in modern dating and romantic relationships.

Previously, I was a Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona (2022-2023, on leave), and a British Academy Visiting Scholar at the Centre for the Politics of Feelings, University of London, where I carried out an interdisciplinary research on political emotions (summer of 2023). I have held visiting positions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford (2018), University of Temple, (2020), University of Canberra (2020), University of Barcelona (2021) and ESADE Business School (2021).

As a social scientist, I’m committed to interdisciplinary research and open science practices.

I’m also on BlueSky and Google Scholar.