Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Selen A. Ercan is Professor of Political Science at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy at the University of Canberra. She currently leads the Centre’s research cluster on democratic resilience along with two Australian Research Council Discovery Projects advancing this work.
Ercan’s research examines how deliberative engagement can respond to contemporary democratic challenges and strengthen democratic resilience. She brings together normative theory and empirical analysis to study how citizens and institutions contribute to meaningful democratic reform.
Over the past ten years, Selen Ercan has led or co-led more than $4 million in funded research, including four Australian Research Council grants. She has published three books and more than fifty journal articles on deliberative theory and practice across a range of contexts. Her recent books include Mending Democracy: Democratic Repair in Disconnected Times (Oxford University Press, 2020, with Hendriks and Boswell), and Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2022, lead editor).
Her scholarly contributions have been recognised through multiple awards, including: the Best Paper Prize from Policy and Politics (received twice, in 2018 and 2020), the Research Excellence Award from the Faculty of Business, Government and Law (received twice, in 2019 and 2020), and the University of Canberra’s Teaching Excellence Award (2021).
In 2024, she received the Academic Leadership Award from the Australian Political Studies Association for her leadership and contributions to political science. In 2025, she was appointed Distinguished Visiting Chair at the Institute for Transdisciplinary Advanced Studies at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Beyond her scholarly work, Ercan is committed to informing and improving democratic practice. She has led the design and analysis of deliberative town halls as part of the Connecting to Parliament project; developed the Building Democratic Resilience guidance for NSW’s Connected Communities Unit; and led the creation of the first national Guidebook for Deliberative Engagement for public servants and policy makers, in collaobraiton with the NSW Premier’s Department and the Australian Government.
She has held multiple senior leadership roles at the University of Canberra and internationally, including serving as the Director of Centre for Deliberative Democracy (2022-2026), Convenor of Higher Degree by Research and graduate research traning at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis (2012–2018), Co-Convener of the ECPR Standing Group on Theoretical Perspectives in Policy Analysis (2020–2022), Chair of the Participatory Governance cluster of the global Participedia project (2021–2026). As Centre Director, she has twice led the Centre’s successful renewal at the Univerisity of Canberra and developed impactful research programs on deliberative engagement and democratic resilience.
She speaks English, German, and Turkish.
Full list of publications available in GoogleScholar
Areas of PhD Supervison:
Selen Ercan welcomes expressions of interest from prospective PhD students working on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy, democratic resilience, democratic innovations, and alternative or emerging forms of political participation. She is particularly interested in supervising projects that explore how democratic systems can adapt, include diverse voices, and respond to contemporary political challenges through new forms of citizen engagement and institutional reform.
Recent Interviews and Media, featuring Selen Ercan’s research:
- Six studies you shouldn't miss: UC hosts confernece exploring global health of democracy, University of Canberra, 2025
- UC and NSW Government launch new resourcese to brign everday Australians into government decision making, University of Canberra, 2025
- 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.
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
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics where Selen AYIRTMAN ERCAN is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
-
Politicians' perceptions of deliberative citizen engagement
Webb, A. (CI), SAVINI, E. (CoI) & AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CI)
12/02/26 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
-
Foreign conflicts, domestic divides: Advancing a deliberative response
AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CI), DRYZEK, J. (CoI), McSwiney, J. (CoI), Dehghan, E. (CoI), Glazunova, S. (CoI) & Sengul, K. (CoI)
1/01/26 → 31/12/28
Project: Research
-
CVE and Social Cohesion Research Program: Emerging Trends and Threats
AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CI), McSwiney, J. (CoI) & Sengul, K. (CoI)
16/06/25 → 30/12/26
Project: Research
-
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 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
-
Learning Democratic Resilience: Public Sphere Responses to Extremism
AYIRTMAN ERCAN, S. (CI), DRYZEK, J. (CoI), Balint, P. (CoI) & McSwiney, J. (CoI)
Project: Research
-
Bouncing Back or Forward? Two Approaches to Democratic Resilience After Extremist Attacks
Ercan, S. A., McSwiney, J., Beausoleil, E., Fitzpatrick, C. & Felicetti, A., 2025, In: Political Studies. p. 1-18 18 p., 00323217251353659.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)1 Downloads (Pure) -
Democratic Resilience: Moving from Theoretical Frameworks to a Practical Measurement Agenda
Biddle, N., Fischer, A., Angus, S., A. Ercan, S., Grömping, M. & Gray, M., 2025, ANU E Press, p. 1-33, 33 p.Research output: Working paper › Discussion paper
Open Access -
Designing transformative service initiatives (TSIs) in polarised contexts: a framework for effective practice
RUSSELL-BENNETT, R., Gasparin, I., Gnusowski, M., Vredenburg, J., Ahmed, J. & A. Ercan, S., 2025, In: Journal of Services Marketing. 39, 10, p. 180-194 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
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, Australian Government. 67 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
Open AccessFile2033 Downloads (Pure) -
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 AccessFile205 Downloads (Pure)