Carlos Jalali earned his doctorate in political science from the University of Oxford, having previously received an M.Sc. (with distinction) in Development Economics (University of London) and a First Class Honours BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (University of Oxford).

He is a tenured Associate Professor with Habilitation at the University of Aveiro, at the Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences. He also presents extensive international experience, as FLAD Visiting Professor at Georgetown University and Brown University (US); the University of Cape Verde; the Federal University of Sergipe in Brazil; the Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde; and, during his doctorate, the University of Oxford.

He is a leading researcher on Portuguese politics in comparative perspective, with over eighty scholarly publications (books, scientific journal articles and book chapters) on topics such as the Portuguese party system; political institutions; the executive; political parties; electoral behaviour; party campaigns; media coverage of politics; local elections; and governance. He has also coordinated and participated in a number of international and national competitively-funded research projects, most recently the “Secret Garden” research project.

Since June 2024, he is the Coordinator of Research of the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos. Between 2016-2021, he was President of the Portuguese Political Science Association (APCP, Associação Portuguesa de Ciência Política), having been Local Organising Committee co-chair for the 2021 IPSA World Congress. From 2021 to 2024, he was the coordinator of the GOVCOPP research unit, assessed as Very Good by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT).