Research profile
My research interests are in comparative political economy and comparative politics, with a particular focus on welfare states, industrial relations, party politics, trade unions, and the radical right. Drawing on a grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG), my recent research examined the impact of populist radical right parties on social and economic policies in the advanced capitalist democracies. Previously, my doctoral research focused on the policy responses of political actors to inequality and precarity in post-industrial labour markets and welfare states, both at the EU level and nation state level. More recently, I have taken an interest in the political economy of eco-social policies and their implications for the institutional landscape and distributive priorities of welfare states. Broadly conceived, I am interested in the relationship between capitalism and democracy over time. Below you find an overview of my research projects.
Current projects
• Democracy, Autocracy, and the Welfare State in the 21st Century: A Global Approach (with Dorottya Szikra & Erdem Yörük)
Liberal democracy faces its most severe challenge since World War II. Populist parties have advanced in many countries, and pushed for processes of “democratic backsliding” in states as diverse as Brazil, Hungary, India, Turkey, and the USA. In this project, we want to examine the role of the welfare state in either strengthening or weakening the viability of liberal democracy. In doing so, we currently assemble a Special Issue with papers covering different theoretical perspectives and empirical insights from across the globe.
• The Political Sources of Green Backlash (with Leonce Röth) (funded by ZSP policy grant)
Our project examines the distributive effects and political communication of eco-social policy in Germany. Focusing on the Buildings Energy Act (GEG) in particular, we study the sources of opposition to climate mitigation by studying how different political actors have politicised and evaluated different aspects of eco-social reform. In doing so, our project aims to provide new insights on how eco-social policy can be designed and communicated to generate a durable political consensus in favour of climate mitigation. Recent policy reports from this project can be found here.
• The Socio-Economic Dimension of the Populist Radical Right (funded by the DFG until 2023)
Radical right parties are no longer political challengers on the fringes of party systems; they have become part of the political mainstream across the Western world. My research has examined how they have used their political power to reform economic and social policies in Continental Europe, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the USA. The core of my findings can be found in a book published with Oxford UP in 2024. Related to that, I currently investigate the role of vocational education and training in shaping electoral support for radical right parties (with Niccolo Durazzi and Simone Tonelli); the positions and discourses of radical right parties on issues of work and working conditions (with Koen Damhuis and Elie Michel); and the economic growth strategies of radical right parties in Southern Europe (with Arianna Tassinari and Jimena Valdez).
• Political Drivers and Socio-Economic Outcomes of the Austrian Welfare State (with Lukas Lehner)
In my comparative welfare state research I have a special interest in the Austrian case. Using a comparative perspective we currently examine how Austria's social insurance can remain a viable tool to reconcile successful economic performance with high levels of social solidarity. Related to that, previous research investigated the conditions under which political actors reinforced or mitigated precarious work and welfare conditions in Austria, Denmark, and Sweden (for further information, see my book published with Cornell University Press in 2018).