PDI-Titular d'Universitat
Department: Constitutional Law, Political and Administrative Sciences
Melany Barragán holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Salamanca and is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Valencia. Her academic and research trajectory has focused on the analysis of political elites and career paths, the quality of democracy, party systems, and comparative politics, with particular attention to Latin America.
She obtained her PhD in 2016 with a dissertation devoted to the study of political careers in decentralized contexts, and since then she has developed an extensive research agenda on the professionalization of politics, the profiles and trajectories of political leaders, parliamentary and presidential elites, as well as processes of representation and democratic quality. Her work has contributed to advancing knowledge on Latin American political dynamics and on the factors that shape the performance of democratic institutions.
She regularly participates in national and international research projects and has undertaken research stays at prestigious institutions such as Goethe University Frankfurt, the University of Pittsburgh, FLACSO‑Ecuador, and UNSAM (Argentina). She is the author of numerous scientific publications in specialized journals and edited volumes, focusing on the study of democracy, political representation, leadership, and democratic institutions.
Her work combines research, teaching, and knowledge transfer, contributing to the analysis and understanding of contemporary political processes from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective.