I am a political scientist, currently working as an acting professor for political science, democracy, and participation at the Europa-Universität Flensburg in Germany and affiliated to the Department for Public Policy at the Central European University in Vienna.
I am mainly interested in the ways in which democracies evolve and how citizens and democratic institutions, such as social movements, political parties, parliaments, and administrations interact.
In my research, I conduct theoretically guided empirical analyses of citizens‘ changing democratic demands, and how this affects democratic institutions and their responsiveness. I am especially interested in how social movements, protest initiatives, and political parties seek to create new opportunities for citizen engagement to enable a democratically self-determined life. Also, my work addresses the challenges democracies face when democratic engagement, such as voting or party membership, diminishes.
In this web space, I present parts of my work, my research projects and publications, as well as my media appearances.
If you are searching for my most recent publications and research, please look here.
If you want to learn about my recent research and teaching, Miguel de la Riva from Der Standard and Nathan Greenfield from University World News have written two news articles about it in the beginning of 2026.