Dr. Sharon Matzkin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, working within a European Research Council (ERC) project under the supervision of Prof. David Levi-Faur. Her research focuses on government retention of public and political trust, drawing on large cross-national survey datasets and multi-wave panel studies.
Sharon specialises in political trust, public opinion, and emerging technology at the intersection of AI, cyberterrorism, and terrorism. Her doctoral dissertation, completed at the University of Haifa under Prof. Daphna Canetti, examined the effects of cyberattacks and AI-enabled surveillance on public trust. She is particularly interested in how political orientation and emotional responses shape public confidence in government and security agencies following digital threats.
Sharon holds a B.A. in Prehistoric Archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an M.A. in Political Communications from Tel-Aviv University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Haifa. Her research offers critical insights into contemporary political challenges, shaping ongoing discourse on public opinion, digital disruptions, and governance. She employs advanced quantitative methods, such as VR lab experiments, survey-experiments, structural equation modelling and network analysis.
Practical experience at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Canadian Embassy in Israel enriches her academic pursuits, as does her track record securing competitive research funding and delivering findings to policy audiences including the Israeli National Cyber Directorate. Sharon is also a recipient of the Chaikin Award for PhD excellence.