Dr. Martínez-Tapia received both his BA and PhD from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Political Science with an emphasis on political parties in comparative perspective. He also gained his MA in International Relations from the University of Manchester (U.K.) and has been visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Democracy in the University of California, Irvine and at Harvard University’s Dept. of Government & Suffolk University Boston. Outside academia, he served as communication advisor to the Vicepresident of Spain from 2005 to 2007 with mainly speechwriting responsibilities. His most recent book, Los problemas no resueltos de la democracia. Centro y periferia en España (Madrid: Arrebato Libros, 2016), prologued by Arend Lijphart, analyses the political strategies of nationalist parties in Basque Country and Catalonia from and elite behavior’s perspective, using Manifesto Research Group content analysis data. An updated English edition of the book is expected to be published in the Fall of 2027. He has recently been appointed Academic Director of the Bachelor in Political Science at IE University. He is a happy husband and devoted father of two (Máxima & Lolo). Interested in gardening, cooking, travelling, animals and Vespa bikes.
Corporate Experience
• Communication Advisor, Government of Spain - 2005-2007
• Academic Dean, Marbella International University Centre (MIUC) – 2013-2016
• Academic Director, Bachelor of Political Science, IE University – 2025-today
Academic Experience
• Adjunct Professor, Political Science & International Relations, IE University – 2016-today
• Assistant Professor, Political Science & International Relations, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija – 2007-2013 // 2016-today
• Assistant Professor, Suffolk University Boston & Madrid - 2008-2013
• Assistant Professor, Political Science, Saint Louis Univ. Madrid – 2005-2008
Academic Background
• Ph.D. in Political Science, Universidad Complutense Madrid – 2011
• MA in International Relations, University of Manchester (UK) – 2000
• BA in Political Science & International Relations, Universidad Complutense Madrid – 1997
