Transformation, participation and public policy
The simultaneous megatrends of green transition, geopolitics, digitalisation and demographics are disrupting our daily lives: The way we work, travel, eat or consume is changing rapidly, whether we like it or not. While for some this is an opportunity for social improvement, many people feel threatened by the disruptions and become alienated from political institutions and practices. I am fascinated by the question of what strategies can be developed for a socially inclusive and just green transformation.
The origins of my research interest lie in the area of social identification and its implications for political behaviour. Over the past decade, I have studied student and trade union activism, (social democratic) party membership, football fandom, citizen participation in public infrastructure, and mobility behaviour. The recurring theme in this work is the question of how self-understanding interacts with political behaviour: How does identity shape political behaviour in postmodern societies? And how does political behaviour reflect self-identifications? As a political scientist, I pursue these questions with the aim of understanding how these individual-level mechanisms influence political institutions and organisations.
My regional focus has been on European countries. I take European integration as the background of my work. In summary, the meta-trend of Europeanisation of everyday life and the successive reduction of manifest borders within Europe (though only for European/Western citizens) is the backdrop against which my work is set. I am keen to find out how democratic societies across Europe deal with the pitfalls of change and transformation.
I am currently Head of the Department of Industrial Change at the Work and Environment Foundation of the IGBCE trade union. We provide science-based support for the transformation of energy-intensive industries, particularly in the chemical, energy and mining sectors, with a clear focus on employment. My work focuses on raw material supply, cohesion policy and the future development of our industries.
My past position at the German Centre for Rail Traffic Research covered applied research on mobility behaviour and transformation of the mobility sector. The institute is a research institution of the German government. Projects have included citizen participation in rail infrastructure projects and the interplay between public transport access and local identity.
During my postdoc (2018-2021), I led the GRF-funded research project The identity effect of Europeanised lifeworlds: Becoming European through football (EUFoot). The project aimed to understand how the accelerating Europeanisation of football competitions and governance structures has shaped the identifications and activities of football fans. It analysed a mainstream leisure activity - football - and its relevance for the formation of a European identity. I continued these activities as a scientific advisor to the follow-up project FANZinE - Football as a Basis for Social Cohesion in Europe.
My PhD project (2012-2017) at the Institute for Political Science (University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dr. Achim Goerres) focused on the motives and activities of young party members in the context of larger societal trends and organisational changes within political parties. The empirical case of my thesis was the German Social Democratic Party (SPD). The study used a mixed method design with semi-structured interviews and a total population survey among the young members of this party.
Past research projects and activities have covered the development of political organisations such as student self-government organisations and party youth organisations, as well as trade unions, with a regional/country focus on Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, Israel and Palestine. I have also been involved in several projects in the field of higher education research, student orientation and individual career development of students, mainly from marginalised groups (see Publication).