Christoforos Vernardakis is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Sciences of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

A graduate of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he obtained a postgraduate degree (D.E.A.) in Political Science from the University of the Sorbonne (Paris II) in 1987. During the period 1987–1988, he pursued postgraduate studies in Political Philosophy (Sorbonne – University of Paris I). His doctoral thesis (1995) at the University of Athens, supervised by Professor Ilias Nikolakopoulos, focused on the political parties of the 1974–1985 period and their integration into the legal and political institutional framework of the post-dictatorship era. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1995 at the University of Athens (supervised by Professor Ilias Nikolakopoulos), which focused on the political parties of the 1974–1985 period and their integration into the legal and political institutional framework of the post-dictatorship era.

From 1993 to 2005, he worked in the private sector, founding and managing the political and social research firm VPRC. From 2005 until 2014, he served as Head of its Scientific Council. He designed and supervised hundreds of research projects, large and small, in the fields of electoral and political behavior, social research, market research, and consumer habits, while also overseeing major projects involving the collection and processing of statistical data. In October 2004, he assumed the position of Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Crete, specializing in “Quantitative Political Analysis.” He remained at the University of Crete until November 2009, when he took up his duties as Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Sciences of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. From 2011 to 2015, he served on the Scientific Council of the Institute of Commerce and Services (INEMY) of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (EΣEE), overseeing the ongoing research used to monitor indicators for the commerce sector.

In recent years, his research and writing have focused primarily on the theory of the State and modern governance.

Notable among his extensive scholarly work are the following books:

• The Political Party: From Representation to De-representation. Sakkoulas Publications, Athens – Thessaloniki, 2026.
• State and Governance: Political Power in the Era of Neoliberalism. Sakkoulas Publications, Athens – Thessaloniki, 2025.
• Political Parties, Elections, and the Party System: Transformations of Political Representation 1990–2010 (with an Afterword covering 2011–2023). Sakkoulas Publications, Athens – Thessaloniki, 2023 (2nd edition).
• Public Opinion in Greece. A series of annual publications (2000–2011) featuring analyses from the fields of political science and sociology, based on empirical data from VRRC surveys as well as those of other research organizations. Livani Publications, 2000–2003; Savvalas Publications, “Social Sciences” series, 2004–2011.
• Electoral Behavior: Historical Trajectories and Models of Analysis (Selected texts by Nonna Mayer and others). Translation, editing, and bibliography; Savvalas Publications, 2005.
• Parties and Social Alliances in Pre-dictatorship Greece: The prerequisites of the Metapolitefsi (in collaboration with G. Mavris); Exantas Publications, 1991.

He has a significant number of publications in Greek, English, and French, as well as a regular presence at international conferences.

From 2015 to 2023, he was on leave from his university position due to holding political office. He served as Secretary General for the Coordination of Government Work (February 2015 – July 2015), Alternate Minister of Administrative Reconstruction (July 2015 – November 2016), and Minister of State (November 2016 – July 2019). He served as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament (Athens 1st Electoral District) from 2015 to 2023.

He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Political Science Association (HPSA) (2008–2014), the “Nikos Poulantzas” Institute (2004–2014), and the Glinos Foundation (2008–2015).

For further information and contact:

Personal Website: www.vernardakis.gr

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