School of Social and Political Science

Background

I am a political psychologist and Lecturer in International Relations at the School of Social and Political Science. My research focuses on the application of psychologically oriented and agent-based approaches to understanding decision-making in International Relations. My areas of research interest include foreign policy analysis, interstate rivalries, the assessment of political leaders and Latin American foreign policies. Currently, I am particularly keen to conduct research that helps expand the understanding of the role of emotions in shaping policymakers’ decisions in international conflicts.

My work has been published in International Studies Quarterly, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Studies Review and the British Journal of Politics and International Relations.

I am the Co-director of the Centre for Security Research (CeSer). If you have any questions or you'd like to be added to the mailing list, feel free to contact me.

Qualifications

PhD in Politics and IR, The University of Edinburgh

MA in International Studies, Universidad de Chile

BA in Psychology, Universidad de Chile

Topics interested in supervising

Foreign Policy, Psychological Approaches to Security, Political Psychology, Political Leaders, Rivalries between States, Emotions in IR, Latin American Foreign Policies.

If you are interested in being supervised by me, please see the link below for more information: 

PhD in Politics  

Research outputs

Journal articles

• Thiers, C. (2025). Political Leaders’ Role in Latin American Foreign Policy: A Systematic Review. Uluslararası İlişkiler/International Relations.
• Thiers, C. (2023). ‘The Role of Political Leaders’ Emotions in Shaping International Rivalries: The Case of Former Bolivian President Evo Morales’. Foreign Policy Analysis 20 (1): orad033.
• Thiers, C. and Wehner, L. (2023) “Britain’s COVID-19 battle: The role of political leaders in shaping the responses to the pandemic”. British Journal of Politics and International Relations.
• Thiers, C. and Wehner, L. (2022). “The personality traits of populist leaders and their foreign policies: Hugo Chavez and Donald Trump.” International Studies Quarterly, 66(1).
• Thiers, C. “Profiling Leaders in Spanish.” (2020) International Studies Review, 22(4), 1039–1067 in Brummer et al. Forum: Coding in Tongues: Developing Non-English Coding Schemes for Leadership Profiling. 

Book chapters

• Thiers, C. and Wehner, L. (2023) “Latin American Populist Leaders and the International Stage: Analysing Their Belief Systems” in Löfflmann, Lacatus and Meibauer (eds.) Populism, Political Communication and Performative Leadership in International Politics Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication.
• Thiers, C. (2021) “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Steering Effects of Operational Code Beliefs in the Chilean-Bolivian Rivalry.” in Mark Schafer and Stephen G. Walker (eds.) Operational Code Analysis and Foreign Policy Roles: Crossing Simon’s Bridge. Routledge.

Book reviews

• Thiers, C. (2025). Leaders in the Middle East and North Africa: How Ideology Shapes Foreign Policy by Ozgur Ozdamar and Sercan Canbolat. Political Science Quarterly.
• Thiers, C. (2017). Latin America’s Leaders by Rut Diamint and Laura Tedesco Political Studies Review, 15(4), 675–676.

Blog pieces and commentaries 

• September 2025. La maquinaria de la mentira. BioBio Chile.
• August 2025. Jara vs. Kast: lo que revela la psicología sobre los futuros estilos de gobierno. CIPER Chile.
• August 2025. Milei’s Argentina and the unmaking of diplomacy. ECPR’s Political Science Blog - The Loop.
• April 2025. Why Keir Starmer’s psychological profile is different from other prime ministers – and what it means for his dealings with Donald Trump. The Conversation UK.
• April 2025. Bringing the Leader Back In: The Case for Political Psychology in International Affairs. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
• November 2024. Elecciones en Estados Unidos: Una lección para la política global y para Chile. CIPER Chile.
• July 2024. Keir Starmer – A new chapter in UK foreign policy? LSE British Politics and Policy.
• January 2024. Los rasgos del liderazgo de Milei. CIPER Chile.
• December 2023. Milei’s Leadership Examined: Forecasting Potential Shifts in Argentina’s Foreign Policy. Global Americans.
• August 2023. Selection Processes in Academia: Time for a Revamp. The Duck of Minerva.
• November 2022. What an analysis of Sunak’s personality could mean for UK policy. LSE British Politics and Policy (with Kaarbo, J. and Beasley, R.)
• March 2022. The Psychology of war: analysing Putin's motivations. ECPR’s Political Science Blog - The Loop.
• October 2020 Leader Personalities: Trump vs Biden. Duck of Minerva. (with Kaarbo, J. and Beasley, R.)

Tools developed

• 2017-2020. Developed the Spanish version of the Operational Code Analysis coding scheme. This software automates the assessment of political leaders' beliefs within the Operational Code Analysis framework. Available: profilerplus.org

Media appearances

• Interview RTVE (July 2024). The 'Tories', facing an electoral abyss: the identity crisis that undermined confidence in the party. (in Spanish).
• Interview France 24 (February 2, 2023). Three years of Brexit and its impact on the British economy. El Debate (in Spanish)
• Interview CNN Chile (September 15, 2022) The challenges of the new reign of Charles III | Conexión Global Prime. (in Spanish)
• Interview CNN Chile (September 8, 2022) Prime Minister Liz Truss: Who is she, and what challenges will she face? | Conexión Global Prime. (in Spanish)

Leadership and community engagement

At-Large Officer (elected) of the Foreign Policy Analysis Section of the International Studies Association (2023-Present)

Co-founder and co-convenor of the Foreign Policy Analysis Research Group, University of Edinburgh (2016-2019).

Teaching

Dr Thiers is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), 2020.

PLIT10176 Latin American Foreign Policies

PLIT10180 The Political Psychology of Foreign Affairs

PGSP11300 Foreign Policy Analysis

PLIT10154 Foundations in Global Security