Mihail Chiru is an Associate Professor in Comparative Central and Eastern European Politics, St Antony's College. He received a PhD (awarded Summa Cum Laude) in Comparative Politics from the Central European University.
Before joining DPIR, Mihail was a Departmental Lecturer in East European Politics at Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA). He previously taught at the University of Southampton and at the Central European University and conducted postdoctoral work at UCLouvain (Belgium) and Median Research Centre (Romania).
His current research focuses on three agendas. The first agenda analyses the role of electoral competition and constituency constraints in legislators' support for ambitious climate change mitigation policies in the European Parliament. The second agenda draws on observational and experimental data to evaluate the role of civil society ties and militant democracy interventions in the resurgence and potential containment of the far-right in Eastern Europe. The third agenda aims to improve our understanding of how European politicians react to extreme weather events: under which conditions are they more likely devote more attention to climate change, call for more climate change adaptation measures or on the contrary, to deny the connection between these weather hazards and climate change?
Mihail's work has been published in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, Party Politics or European Union Politics.
Publications
Journal Articles
2025
Chiru, M. et al. (2025) “The electoral returns of party-sponsored citizen legislative initiatives”, Journal of Politics [Preprint].
Available at https://doi.org/10.1086/733006
2024
Däubler, T., Lühiste, M. and Chiru, M. (2024) “Do public attitudes on gender equality affect candidate selection in proportional representation systems? Evidence from European Parliament elections”, European Union Politics, 26(1), pp. 45–65.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165241299111
Chiru, M. (2024) “Clientelism, party organization and intra-party democracy”, Comparative Political Studies, 58(4), pp. 680–713.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140241252082
Wunsch, N. and Chiru, M. (2024) “Supranational responses to democratic backsliding: norm contestation and discursive polarisation in the European Parliament”, Journal of European Public Policy, 32(2).
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2320270
2023
Chiru, M. (2023) “The resilience of parliamentary oversight during the COVID-19 pandemic”, West European Politics, 47(2), pp. 408–425.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2023.2246115
Chiru, M. (2023) “Legislative performance and the electoral connection in European Parliament elections”, European Journal of Political Research, 63(2), pp. 664–681.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12615
Chiru, M. (2023) “Seniority and ideological proximity? A longitudinal analysis of the appointment of party group coordinators in the European Parliament”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 62(1), pp. 127–141.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13482
2022
Gross, M. and Chiru, M. (2022) “Time is on my side? The temporal proximity between elections and parties’ salience strategies”, European Political Science Review, 14(4), pp. 482–497.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/s1755773922000376
CHIRU, M. (2022) “Book review of Fernando CASAL BÉRTOA & Zsolt ENYEDI. 2021. Party system closure: Party alliances, government alternatives, and democracy in Europe”., Analele Universitatii din Bucuresti - Stiinte Politice, 24(1), pp. 101–107.
Available at https://doi.org/10.54885/aub-sp-zswb7050
2021
Däubler, T., Chiru, M. and Hermansen, S. (2021) “Introducing COMEPELDA: comprehensive European Parliament electoral data covering rules, parties and candidates”, European Union Politics, 23(2), pp. 351–371.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165211053439
Chiru, M. and Wunsch, N. (2021) “Democratic backsliding as a catalyst for polity-based contestation? Populist radical right cooperation in the European Parliament”, Journal of European Public Policy, 30(1), pp. 64–83.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1984546
Poyet, C. and Chiru, M. (2021) “The electoral connection revisited: introduction to the special issue”, Political Studies Review, 19(3), pp. 327–333.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211022954
Chiru, M. (2021) “Does electoral reform change MPs’ behavior? Evidence from Romania”, Political Studies Review, 19(3), pp. 355–375.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211022565
Chiru, M. and De Winter, L. (2021) “The allocation of committee chairs and the oversight of coalition cabinets in Belgium”, Government and Opposition [Preprint].
Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2021.27
Chiru, M. and Enyedi, Z. (2021) “Who wants technocrats? A comparative study of citizen attitudes in nine young and consolidated democracies”, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 24(1), pp. 95–112.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481211018311
Chiru, M. (2021) “Electoral incentives for territorial representation in the European Parliament”, Journal of European Integration, 44(2), pp. 277–298.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2021.1890067
2020
Chiru, M., Popescu, M. and Szekely, I. (2020) “Political opportunity structures and the parliamentary entry of splinter, merger, and genuinely new parties”, Politics, 41(3), pp. 316–333.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395720943432
Popescu, M. and Chiru, M. (2020) “Electoral system incentives for a party-serving personal vote: How can high personalization occur under PR?”, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 53(2), pp. 3–24.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1525/cpcs.2020.53.2.3
Popescu, M. and Chiru, M. (2020) “Electoral system incentives for a party-serving personal vote: How can high personalization occur under PR?”, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 53(2), pp. 3–24.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1525/cpcs.2020.53.2.3
2019
Chiru, M. (2019) “Low-cost policy specialisation, district characteristics and gender. Patterns of committee assignment in Romania”, Journal of Legislative Studies, 25(3), pp. 375–393.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2019.1662608
Chiru, M. (2019) “Book Review: National political elites, European integration and the eurozone crisis”, Journal of Contemporary European Research, 15(3), pp. 319–322.
Available at https://doi.org/10.30950/jcer.v15i3.1055
Chiru, M. (2019) “Loyal soldiers or seasoned leaders? The selection of committee chairs in the European Parliament”, Journal of European Public Policy, 27(4), pp. 612–629.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2019.1600573
Chiru, M. and Stoian, V. (2019) “Liberty: security dilemmas and party cohesion in the European Parliament”, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 57(5), pp. 921–938.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12852
2018
Chiru, M. and Gherghina, S. (2018) “National games for local gains: legislative activity, party organization and candidate selection”, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 30(1), pp. 64–82.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2018.1537280
Chiru, M. (2018) “The electoral value of constituency-oriented parliamentary questions in Hungary and Romania”, Parliamentary Affairs, 71(4), pp. 950–969.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsx050
2017
Chiru, M. and Gherghina, S. (2017) “Committee chair selection under high informational and organizational constraints”, Party Politics, 25(4), pp. 547–558.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068817741765
Giugal, A. et al. (2017) “Gerrymandering and malapportionment, Romanian style: The 2008 electoral system”, East European Politics and Societies, 31(4), pp. 683–703.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325417711222
Chiru, M. (2017) “Cheap talk or proper signaling? Styles of campaigning and engagement in constituency service”, Social Science Quarterly, 99(1), pp. 283–295.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12404
2016
Chiru, M. and Popescu, M. (2016) “The value of legislative versus electoral experience and gender in explaining candidate list placement in closed-list PR”, Problems of Post-Communism, 64(2), pp. 65–78.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2016.1163228
2015
Chiru, M. (2015) “Parliamentary Elites in Central and Eastern Europe: Recruitment and Representation”, West European Politics, 38(6), pp. 1357–1358.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2015.1065065
Chiru, M. (2015) “Multiple Candidacies and the Role of the Lowest Electoral Tier for Individualized Campaigning”, East European Politics and Societies and Cultures, 29(4), pp. 892–914.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325415569761
Chiru, M. and Enyedi, Z. (2015) “Choosing your own Boss: Variations of representation foci in mixed electoral systems”, Journal of Legislative Studies, 21(4), pp. 495–514.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2015.1077025
2014
Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2014) “Determinants of legislative voting loyalty under different electoral systems: Evidence from Romania”, International Political Science Review, 35(5), pp. 523–541.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512113501242
Chiru, M. (2014) “Early marriages last longer: Pre-electoral coalitions and government survival in Europe”, Government and Opposition, 50(2), pp. 165–188.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2014.8
Chiru, M. and Gherghina, S. (2014) “Parliamentary sovereignty and international intervention: elite attitudes in the first Central European legislatures”, East European Politics, 30(1), pp. 21–33.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2013.858627
2013
Chiru, M., Gherghina, S. and Stefan, L. (2013) “Standing for Reelection Under Different Rules”, Problems of Post-Communism, 60(5), pp. 34–44.
Available at https://doi.org/10.2753/ppc1075-8216600503
Gherghina, S., Stefan, L. and Chiru, M. (2013) “Electoral Reform – Cui Bono? Attitudes of Romanian MPs to the Electoral System Change”, Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(3), pp. 351–369.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2013.812347
Chiru, M. (2013) “Christopher J. Kam, Party discipline and parliamentary politics, reviewed by Mihail Chiru”, Party Politics, 19(2), pp. 371–374.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068812472775
Schneider, C., Bochsler, D. and Chiru, M. (2013) “Comparative Politics in Central and Eastern Europe: Mapping Publications over the Past 20 Years”, European Political Science, 12(1), pp. 127–145.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2012.27
Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2013) “Taking the Short Route”, East European Politics and Societies and Cultures, 27(1), pp. 108–128.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325412465003
2012
Stefan, L., Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2012) “We all agree that we disagree too much: Attitudes of Romanian MPs towards party discipline”, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 28(2), pp. 180–192.
Chiru, M. and Gherghina, S. (2012) “Keeping the Doors Closed”, East European Politics and Societies and Cultures, 26(3), pp. 510–537.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325411428969
Chiru, M. and Gherghina, S. (2012) “Does the Confidence in the EU Spill Over to the National Level? A Longitudinal Analysis of Political Trust in Central Europe”, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 13(2), pp. 226–245.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/15705854.2012.675654
Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2012) “The first casting happens at home: role formation in the European parliamentary elections”, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 12(2), pp. 299–314.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2012.686014
Stefan, L., Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2012) “We all agree that we disagree too much: attitudes of Romanian MPs towards party discipline”, East European Politics, 28(2), pp. 180–192.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13523279.2011.635649
Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2012) “Voting after Watching: The Strategic Role of Election Polls”, European Review, 20(2), pp. 210–221.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/s1062798711000548
Chiru, M. and Gherghina, S. (2012) “When voter loyalty fails: party performance and corruption in Bulgaria and Romania”, European Political Science Review, 4(1), pp. 29–49.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/s1755773911000063
2010
Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2010) “Practice and payment: Determinants of candidate list position in European Parliament elections”, European Union Politics, 11(4), pp. 533–552.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116510380284
Chapters
2020
Chiru, M., De Winter, L. and Vandeleene, A. (2020) “Candidate selection Still a secret garden?”, in Parliamentary Candidates Between Voters and Parties: A Comparative Perspective, pp. 54–77.
2019
Janssen, C., Chiru, M. and De Winter, L. (2019) “Between Parties and Voters: Candidates’ Role Conception in the Belgian Partitocracy”, in Candidates, Parties and Voters in the Belgian Partitocracy. Springer Nature, pp. 313–339.
Available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96460-7_11
2018
Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2018) “Romania: An ambivalent parliamentary opposition”, in Opposition Parties in European Legislatures: Conflict or Consensus?, pp. 191–209.
Available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315561011
2015
Chiru, M. et al. (2015) “Explaining Change in Party Leadership Selection Rules”, in The Politics of Party Leadership. Oxford University Press (OUP), pp. 31–49.
2014
Chiru, M. and Pilet, J. (2014) “Let’s not risk too much: The selection of party leaders in Romania”, in The Selection of Political Party Leaders in Contemporary Parliamentary Democracies: A Comparative Study, pp. 141–155.
Available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315856025
