Sebastián Rivera

I am a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. I received an MA in Political Science from UC Irvine and an MA in Communication from the Universidad Diego Portales, Chile. I also hold a BA in Political Science from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile.

I study comparative political behavior in Latin America, with a particular focus on Chile. My research interests include public opinion, election campaigns, media consumption, and political participation. My current research agenda focuses on the personalization of politics from a comparative perspective, with a special focus on Latin America. I am interested in understanding why candidates personalize their election campaigns, why people look at candidates’ characteristics when making voting decisions, and how election campaigns shape political attitudes and behaviors. I am also interested in understanding people’s political involvement, both online and offline.

In Chile, my home country, I am affiliated with the Centro de Investigación en Comunicación, Literatura y Observación Social (CICLOS) at Universidad Diego Portales and the Núcleo Milenio para el Estudio de la Política, Opinión Pública y Medios en Chile (MEPOP).

Featured Articles

• Scherman, A., Valenzuela, S., & Rivera, S. (2022). Youth environmental activism in the age of social media: the case of Chile (2009-2019). Journal of Youth Studies, 25(6), 751-770.

• Scherman, A., & Rivera, S. (2021). Social Media Use and Pathways to Protest Participation: Evidence From the 2019 Chilean Social Outburst. Social Media + Society, 7(4)

Other Publication

• Rivera, S. (2019). Confianza y participación política en América Latina. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, 64(235), 555–583.

Contact Information

Email: sebastian.rivera@uci.edu
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2642-2546
Personal website: https://sebastianrivera.cl

33% of works as first author, 33% as sole author.
Last updated: January 3, 2024.