Biography
Rory Costello specialises in electoral and legislative politics in Europe, with a particular focus on Ireland and on the European Union. Before coming to UL in 2011, Rory worked at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has published on topics such as election pledge fulfilment, party politics in the European Parliament, the division of power among EU institutions, bicameralism, political representation, and coalition formation. His research has appeared in a variety of international journals including (among others) Party Politics, European Union Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, Electoral Studies, West European Politics, and American Journal of Political Science. He runs the WhichCandidate voting aid application (www.whichcandidate.ie)
Research Interests
My research interests include EU politics, political representation, electoral behaviour, voter engagement and coalition government.
Current projects include:
- Representation beyond political parties. This project, funded by the Irish Research Council, examines the consequences of the decline of political parties for the quality of representation, focusing on the 2016 Irish general election.
- The voting advice application WhichCandidate. This is an online tool designed to provide information to voters while at the same time collecting valuable data on the policy preferences of election candidates and their constituents. It was run on a nationwide basis for the 2015 General Election, in partnership with The Irish Times and a number of local media outlets, and used by over 100,000 voters during the election.
- Research into online political gambling markets and their use as measures of election campaign volatility and election forecasting (What are the Odds). With Matthew Wall and Stephen Lindsay of Swansea University.
- Analysis of election pledge fulfillment by political parties and the factors influencing pledge fulfillment, both in Ireland and cross-nationally. This research is carried out in collaboration with an international research network, the Comparative Party Pledge group. The first comparative publication from this project can be found here.
Teaching Interests
My primary teaching interests lie in European politics, including both the European Union and the comparative study of European countries. I have also taught in the areas of political behaviour, research methods, and Irish politics.
PO5005 Graduate Research Methods
PO4015 Government and Politics of the EU
PO4023 Comparative European Politics
PO5081 Academic and Transferable Skills
PO5232 Representative Democracy in Europe
Professional Activities
Award
- 2015 - Irish Research Council New Horizons Research Project Award (44,373)
- 2013 - AHSS/ISKS Fellowship, 5,000
- 2008 - Best Article Award, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties
- 2006 - Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholarship
Employment
- 2010 London School of Economics (2010-11) - Fellow in European Politics
- 2008 University of Twente (2008-10) - Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Publications
Book Chapter
European elections gradually becoming less 'second-order' in Ireland
Costello, R
Euroflections: Leading academics on the European elections 2019
Ireland
Thomson R.;Costello R.;Love E.
Party Mandates and Democracy: Making, Breaking, and Keeping Election Pledges in Twelve Countries
Party identification in the wake of the crisis: a nascent realignment?
Costello, R
The Post-Crisis Irish Voter: Voting Behaviour in the Irish 2016 General Election
DOI: 10.7765/9781526122650.00010
Bicameralism
Costello, R
The Sage Encyclopedia of Political Behavior
DOI: 10.4135/9781483391144.n32
The Fulfilment of Election Pledges by the Outgoing Government
Costello, Rory; O'Neill, Paul; Thomson, Robert
How Ireland Voted 2016: The Election that Nobody Won
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-40889-7_2
The fulfilment of election pledges
Costello, R; Thomson, R
How Ireland Voted 2007
DOI: 10.1057/9780230597990_2
Conference Contribution
European Consortium for Political Research General Conference
R. Costello, P. Dumont, R. Thomson, M. Kerby and E. OMalley
Mid-West Political Science Association Annual Conference
R. Thomson, C. Moury, R. Costello, M. Ferguson and K. Praprotnik
American Political Science Association Annual Meeting
R. Thomson, T. Royed, E. Naurin, J. Artes, R. Costello, D. Duval, M. Ferguson, P. Kostadinova, C. Moury, F Petry and K Prapotnik
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, Rory
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, Rory; Papageorgiou, Achillefs
The Responsible Party Model in Times of Dealignment
Rory Costello and Achillefs Papageorgiou
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, Rory
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, Rory; McInerney, Rita
MacGill Summer School
Costello, R
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Wall, Matthew; Costello, Rory; Lindsay, Stephen
Royal Irish Academy: Models of Bicameralism
Costello, R
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, Rory
European Political Science Association Annual Conference
Costello, Rory
European Political Science Association Annual Conference
Costello, Rory and Robert Thomson
MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago
Costello, Rory
MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago
Costello, Rory and Robert Thomson
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Thomson, Robert and Costello, Rory
Sixth Pan-European Conference on EU Politics
Costello, R; Thomson, R
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference
Thomassen, J; Costello, R; Rosema, M
Fifth Pan-European Conference on EU Politics
Costello, R
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, R; Thomson, R
Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference
Costello, R; Thomson, R
Other Publication
How well do Irish political parties represent the views of voters?
Costello, R
Irish Politics Forum
Which government best reflects the will of the people?
Costello, R
Irish Politics Forum
Economic issues provide election's common ground
Costello, Rory
Limerick Leader
Fine Gael and Labour differ on almost half of election issues - survey
Costello, Rory
Irish Times
Abortion issue divides opinion in parties, suvery shows
Costello, Rory
Irish Times
Outcome will be regarded as barometer of party strength
Costello, Rory
Irish Times
Housing crisis emerges as single biggest election issue
Costello, Rory
Irish Times
The European Parliaments transnational party groups are surprisingly cohesive, but dont underestimate the potential for national divisions
Costello, Rory; Thomson, Robert
The Democratic Audit UK
DOI: http://www.democraticaudit.com/?p=14094
The rise of independents
what does it mean for policy-making?
Costello, R
TheJournal.ie
Sinn Féin surge cannot be explained by anti-EU sentiment
Costello, R; Wall, M
The Irish Times
Are parties in tune with their supporters on matters of policy?
Costello, R
The Irish Times
The Irish European Parliament elections will be fought on the basis of personalities rather than parties
Costello, R
LSE European Politics and Policy blog
Online tool can help find party closest to your political views
Costello, R
The Irish Times
Online tool helps byelection voters to assess candidates
Costello, Rory
The Strain of Representation: How Parties Represent Diverse Voters in Western and Eastern Europe
Costello, R
Parliaments and Estates
DOI: 10.1080/02606755.2013.845355
Sharing power is bad for the health of junior coalition partners
Costello, R
TheJournal.ie
Why hasnt a far-right party like Golden Dawn emerged in Ireland?
Costello, R
TheJournal.ie
Peer Reviewed Journal
Congruence between Voters and Parties: The Role of Party-Level Issue Salience
Costello, R; D Toshkov; B Bos; and A Krouwel
European Journal Of Political Research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12388
The ideological space in Irish politics: comparing voters and parties
Costello, Rory
Irish Political Studies
DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2017.1328408
The Fulfillment of Parties Election Pledges: A Comparative Study on the Impact of Power Sharing
Thomson, R; R Royed; E Naurin; J Artés; R Costello; L Ennser-Jedenastik; M Ferguson; P Kostandinova; C Moury; F Pétry; K Praprontnik
American Journal Of Political Science
DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12313
The miracle of the markets: Identifying key campaign events in the Scottish independence referendum using betting odds
Wall, M; Costello, R; Lindsay, S
Electoral Studies
DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2017.01.003
Bicameralism, nationality and party cohesion in the European Parliament
Costello, Rory; Thomson, Robert
Party Politics
DOI: 10.1177/1354068814563972
Governing together in good and bad economic times: the fulfilment of election pledges in Ireland
Thomson, Robert; Costello, Rory
Irish Political Studies
DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2016.1149066
The distribution of power among EU institutions: who wins under codecision and why?
Costello, R,Thomson, R
Journal Of European Public Policy
DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2013.795393
A new dataset on decision-making in the European Union before and after the 2004 and 2007 enlargements (DEUII)
Thomson, R,Arregui, J,Leuffen, D,Costello, R,Cross, J,Hertz, R,Jensen, T
Journal Of European Public Policy
DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2012.662028
European Parliament Elections and Political Representation: Policy Congruence between Voters and Parties
Costello, R,Thomassen, J,Rosema, M
West European Politics
DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2012.713744
The nexus of bicameralism: Rapporteurs' impact on decision outcomes in the European Union
Costello, R; Thomson, R
European Union Politics
DOI: 10.1177/1465116511410087
Does Bicameralism Promote Stability? Inter-institutional Relations and Coalition Formation in the European Parliament
Costello, R
West European Politics
DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2011.523548
The policy impact of leadership in committees: Rapporteurs' influence on the European Parliament's opinions
Costello, R; Thomson, R
European Union Politics
DOI: 10.1177/1465116510353459
Picking your party online - An investigation of Ireland's first online voting advice application
Wall, M; Sudulich, M.L.; Costello, R., Leon, E.
Information Polity
DOI: 10.3233/IP-2009-0179
Election Pledges and their Enactment in Coalition Governments: A Comparative Analysis of Ireland
Costello, R.; Thomson, R.
Journal Of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties
DOI: 10.1080/17457280802227652