Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Selen A. Ercan is a Professor in Political Science and Director of the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. She leads the Centre’s research cluster on Building Democratic Resilience and is the Chief Investigator of the Australian Research Council Discovery Project (2022-26), Democratic Resilience: The Public Sphere and Extremist Attacks.
Her research examines how deliberative engagement can contribute to more inclusive democratic governance and strengthen democratic resilience.
Selen has published three books and more than fifty journal articles and book chapters on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy, democratic innovations, social movements, alternative forms of political participation, and social science research methods. Her recent publications include Mending Democracy: Democratic Repair in Disconnected Times (Oxford University Press, 2020, with Hendriks and Boswell), and Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy (lead editor, Oxford University Press, 2022).
Her scholarly contributions have been recognised with multiple awards, including: the Best Paper Prize from the journal Policy and Politics (2018 and 2020), the Research Excellence Award from the Faculty of Business, Goverment and Law (2019 and 2020), and the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Canberra (2021). In 2024, she received the Academic Leadership Award from the Australian Political Studies Association for her leadership and scholarly contributions to Political Science.
Selen’s research is driven by a commitment to informing and improving democratic practice. She has led the design and analysis of several deliberative townhalls, as part of the Connecting to Parliament project; developed the Building Democratic Resilience guidance for NSW’s Connected Communities Unit; and is currently leading the development of the Deliberative Engagement Guidebook for public servants, commissioned by the NSW Premier’s Department (forthcoming).
Selen has received research grants from instiutions including the Australian Research Council, New South Wales Government, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Heinrich Böll Foundation (Germany), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada). She has held research appointments at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (Germany) and the Australian National University, and visiting fellowhips in Political Science programs at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil), Nagoya University (Japan), and Stuttgart University (Germany).
She speaks English, German, and Turkish.
Full list of publications available in GoogleScholar
Recent interviews, featuring Selen A. Ercan’s research:
- Deliberation at the Heart of Democracy. Uncover, 2024.
- Inspiring Women Series: Selen A. Ercan. BroadAgenda, 2024.
- Connecting to Parliament: Deliberating with Politicians. Democracy Technologies, 2023.
Current Positions outside of the University of Canberra
- Chair, Participatory Governance Cluster of the global research project, Participedia, Strengthening democracy by mobilizing knowledge of democratic innovations (2020-present).
- Associate Editor, Democratic Theory. An Interdisciplinary Journal (2014-present).
Related Links
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, PhD in Political Science, Australian National University
Master, M.A. in Political Science and Sociology , Heidelberg University
Bachelor, B.A in Political Science and Public Administration , Middle East Technical University
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Democratic Resilience: The Public Sphere and Extremist Attack
DRYZEK, J. (CI), AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CoI), SASS, J. (CoI), Balint, P. (CoI), O'Flynn, I. (CoPI), Beausoleil, E. (CoPI) & Felicetti, A. (CoPI)
31/12/24 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Learning Democratic Resilience: Public Sphere Responses to Extremism
AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CI), DRYZEK, J. (CoI), Balint, P. (CoI) & McSwiney, J. (CoI)
Project: Research
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Advancing deliberative engagement in Australia
Webb, A. (CI), AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CoI), DRYZEK, J. (CoI), SAVINI, E. (CoI) & McSwiney, J. (CoI)
6/12/24 → 30/04/25
Project: Research
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Deliberative Democracy Toolkit
AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CI), CURATO, N. (CoI), ASENBAUM, H. (CoI) & McSwiney, J. (CoI)
2/10/23 → 3/06/24
Project: Research
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Connecting to Parliament: An Experiment in Directly Representative Democracy
Ayirtman Ercan, S. (CI), DRYZEK, J. (CoI) & Webb, A. (CoI)
15/02/23 → 15/04/24
Project: Research
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Guidebook for Deliberative Engagement: Key Features and Practical Insights
A. Ercan, S., McSwiney, J., Parry, L. J., CURATO, N., ASENBAUM, H., Webb, A., SAVINI, E. & McCaul, J., 2025, NSW Government. 132 p.Research output: Book/Report › Reports › peer-review
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Research with Purpose: Working with Government and for Society
A. Ercan, S. & Stebbing , I., 2025, University of Canberra. 33 p.Research output: Book/Report › Reports
Open AccessFile34 Downloads (Pure) -
Advancing deliberative reform in a parliamentary system: prospects for recursive representation
Alnemr, N., A. Ercan, S., Vlahos, N., Dryzek, J., Leigh, A. & Neblo, M., 1 May 2024, In: European Political Science Review. 16, 2, p. 242-259 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access4 Citations (Scopus) -
Building Democratic Resilience: Protecting the Public Sphere From Violent Extremism
McSwiney, J., A. Ercan, S., DRYZEK, J. & Balint, P., 2024, In: Crime and Delinquency. p. 1-26 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)4 Downloads (Pure) -
Beyond citizens' assemblies: Expanding the repertoire of democratic reform
Boswell, J., Hendriks, C. M. & Ercan, S. A., 31 May 2023, De Gruyter Handbook of Citizens' Assemblies. De Gruyter, p. 85-96 12 p.Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in Book › Chapter › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus)