Sections: Alumni

Tin Kampl

Teaching assistant and PhD student in political science at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana

Interests : Democracy Migration
Countries : Slovenia

Tin Kampl is a teaching assistant and PhD student in political science
at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. His research
interest intersects the areas of political participation, youth and
social justice. During his career, he has been involved in youth policy
processes at the highest level as Director of the Office of the Republic
of Slovenia for Youth (2018-2020) and President of the Youth Council
of Slovenia (2014-2018).

Publications
Labour migration from the European periphery to the EU’s core

EU enlargement is once again becoming a priority for European decision makers and is seen as an effective foreign policy tool in challenging geopolitical times. However, it is imperative to recognise EU accession as a multifaceted process that can also exacerbate socio-economic disparities within and beyond the EU. This policy study analyses this phenomenon in light of two specific issues: the application of visa liberalisation policies under EU accession negotiations; and the negative effects of high levels of migration from the semi-periphery to the core of the EU induced by access to free movement.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Evin Incir, S&D MEP
Academic Mentor: Lisa Marie Borrelli, Associate Professor UAS

Members
Publications
13/05/2024

Labour migration from the European periphery to the EU's core

FEPS YAN Series
01/09/2020

Vote 16 - When opponents turn into supporters

Leah Rea

PhD candidate in Law at the Transitional Justice Institute, School of Law of Ulster University

Interests : Digital Inequality
Countries : Ireland

Leah Rea is a PhD candidate in Law at the Transitional Justice Institute,
School of Law of Ulster University where she is researching the
relationship between constitutional conventions and the progression
of human rights. She holds a Master’s degree in Violence, Terrorism
and Security, a Master’s degree in Conflict Transformation and Social
Justice and a Law degree from Queen’s University Belfast. Leah was
accepted into the FEPS Young Academics Network for the 2022-2023
cohort. An alumna of ICNC’s online course on civil resistance, Leah
has participated in multiple human rights campaigns in Northern
Ireland, and also has experience in student union activism.

Publications
Ecosocial food policies – proposal for a new social-democratic approach

In the run-up to the European elections in 2024, this policy study delves into the essential question of why we need to transform the EU food system and how to do it – adopting an ecosocialist perspective that serves as a basis for a new, progressive, social- democratic and ecological food policy.

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Political Mentor: Niels Fuglsang, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Thomas Froehlich, Research Fellow, King’s College London

Members
EU regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising?

This policy study delves into the evolution of the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, exploring upcoming key changes and their connection to broader discussions on populism, democratic values, and access to quality information. Additionally, it provides guidelines for progressive parties on leveraging this legislation to initiate comprehensive strategies to combat extremist populism and antidemocratic movements within the EU.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Alex Agius Saliba, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Kuba Jablonowski, Lecturer in Digital Sociology

Members
Publications
16/05/2024

EU regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising

FEPS YAN Series
Jan Bogusławski

PhD student at Sciences Po Paris

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Poland France

Jan Bogusławski is a PhD student at Sciences Po Paris, researching
the evolutions of the welfare state in Central and Eastern Europe.
He also taught courses pertaining to social policy and comparative
politics across two campuses of Sciences Po. Over the years, he has
worked on various policy-related projects with multiple companies,
NGOs (the German Marshall Fund of the US) and academic institutions
(the College of Europe).
Jan holds degrees from University College London, London School
of Economics, and has been a visiting researcher at the Max Planck
Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne and at the Department
of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford.
His writings have been featured in several media outlets, including
Jacobin and Politico.

Publications
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members
Publications
14/05/2024

Tightening welfare belts again?

FEPS YAN Series
Robin Huguenot-Nöel

Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI)

Interests : Economy Inequality
Countries : France Italy

Robin Huguenot-Noël is a researcher at the Department of Political and
Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.
His research mainly focuses on the governance of employment and
social policies in the EU.

Trained in economics and political science, he worked between 2014
and 2020 as policy advisor to the UK Treasury, the German co-operation
and development agency (GIZ), and the European Policy Centre (EPC).
He also published several reports for the European Commission, the
Council and the Parliament on the EU budget, cohesion policy, and
welfare reforms in the EU.

His work has featured in various academic journals, including the
Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP), the Journal of European
Social Policy (JESP), Transfer: European Review of Labour and
Research. He is the co-author of the book Resilient Welfare States in
the European Union - In Search of Capacitating Solidarity, written with
Anton Hemerijck, and published with Agenda Publishing in 2022.

Publications
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members
Publications
03/03/2026

European sovereignty and the social dimension

Reasserting Europe’s social-democratic model in turbulent times
14/05/2024

Tightening welfare belts again?

FEPS YAN Series
13/11/2023

EU Treaties - Why they need targeted changes

An approach based on European public goods, citizenship and democracy
01/09/2023

Bidding farewell to workfare?

Recovery Watch series
13/06/2022

A new EU strategy for rural areas

Just Transition & Revitalisation
27/05/2021

Our European Future

FEPS contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe
31/01/2020

Social Investment Now! Advancing Social EU through the EU Budget

Lena Siepker
Doctoral researcher in political science at the University of Münster
Interests : Climate Climate Change Democracy
Countries : Germany

Lena Siepker is a doctoral researcher in political science at the University of Münster. Having an interdisciplinary background, her current research focuses on investigating developments in the democratic system and their impact on sustainability policy. She is particularly interested in deliberative participation, especially concerning trends of increasing social and political inequality and critical perspectives of agonistic and radical democratic approaches.

Publications
15/05/2024

Ecosocial food policies - proposal for a new social-democratic approach

FEPS YAN series
Mathieu Blondeel

Assistant Professor of Global Energy and Climate Politics in the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Interests : Climate Climate Change Foreign Affairs
Countries : Belgium Netherlands

Dr Mathieu Blondeel is Assistant Professor of Global Energy and
Climate Politics in the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM),
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He specialises in the geopolitics of the
energy transition and the political economy of the oil and gas industry.

Publications
Toward a progressive geopolitical EU

Principles and recommendations

In the face of a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, marked by global tensions and environmental challenges, this report outlines the evolution of the EU towards a geopolitical union. With the 2024 European elections approaching, the report proposes principles, which, taken together, provide for a dynamic, applicable framework that serves as a basis for practical engagement and policy formulation in fostering a progressive EU geopolitics.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Andreas Schieder, S&D MEP and Co Chair of Global Progressive Forum
Academic Mentor: Dimitris Tsarouhas. Professor of International Affairs. Global Fellow, The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars

Members
Publications
13/05/2024

Toward a progressive geopolitical EU

FEPS YAN Series
24/01/2024

Progressive Yearbook 2024

Looking back to look ahead
26/01/2022

Progressive Yearbook 2022

Dennis Gottschlich

Doctoral researcher in Economics at the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)

Interests : Democracy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Germany

Dennis Gottschlich is  a doctoral researcher in Economics at the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE). His broad research interests include labor economics, future of work and unintended side-effects of competition on workers. He is an applied empirical microeconomist and focus on mental health, social mobility and social capital. Currently he studies economic determinants of mental illnesses, and more general, in psychological distress. He is on deepen the knowledge in this fields to improve policies and highlight the importance of this underresearcherd topic mental health. His current research focuses on the nexus between austerity measures and depressions.

Publications
Inequality and populism

In recent years, European citizens have witnessed a rise in inequality, especially socio-economic, alongside an increase in vote share for radical right populist parties. By examining case studies from Italy, Hungary, and Spain (with the comparative case of Germany), this policy study argues that the rise of populism is not only linked to economic trends but also to other constitutional changes and institutional settings characterising European countries with a focus on economic inequality as the explanatory variable for political participation.

Read the Policy Study

Political Mentor: Gaby Bischoff, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Eunice Goes, Professor of Politics at Richmond American University of London

Members
Unai Gómez-Hernández

Joint PhD at the University of Edinburgh and KU Leuven

Interests : Democracy Foreign Affairs Inequality
Countries : Belgium Spain United Kingdom
Publications
15/05/2024

Inequality and populism

FEPS YAN Series
Maja Gergorić

Research assistant at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb

Interests : Climate Democracy Inequality
Countries : Croatia

Maja Gergorić is a research assistant at the Faculty of Law, Department of Social Policy at the University of Zagreb. She holds two Master’s degrees in Gender Studies and Political Science and is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology, focusing on the emergence of anti-gender movements in post-communist Europe. She also researches anti-abortion movements as well as gender equality and democratic backsliding in (South)Eastern Europe.

Publications
Inequality and populism

In recent years, European citizens have witnessed a rise in inequality, especially socio-economic, alongside an increase in vote share for radical right populist parties. By examining case studies from Italy, Hungary, and Spain (with the comparative case of Germany), this policy study argues that the rise of populism is not only linked to economic trends but also to other constitutional changes and institutional settings characterising European countries with a focus on economic inequality as the explanatory variable for political participation.

Read the Policy Study

Political Mentor: Gaby Bischoff, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Eunice Goes, Professor of Politics at Richmond American University of London

Members
Unai Gómez-Hernández

Joint PhD at the University of Edinburgh and KU Leuven

Interests : Democracy Foreign Affairs Inequality
Countries : Belgium Spain United Kingdom
Publications
15/05/2024

Inequality and populism

FEPS YAN Series
Severin Rapp

Research and teaching associate at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. 

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Austria

Severin’s research is about the measurement of wealth inequality and intergenerational transfers. He is interested in improving the available evidence on the distribution of wealth and bequests. This includes unearthing new data and creating tools to make data from different sources and countries comparable.

Publications
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members
Publications
14/05/2024

Tightening welfare belts again?

FEPS YAN Series
Cleo Davies

Senior Research Fellow at University of Warwick, UK. 

Interests : Policy EU external relations
Countries : United Kingdom

Cleo is currently Senior Research Fellow working on the EU-UK relations at the University of Warwick with Professor Hussein Kassim. Much of the research work she does is at the interface of research and policy. She recently finished a joint Royal Society of Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh project on 'Rethinking Policy Impact'. She is an associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has taught at Edinburgh University since January 2016. Edinburgh is where she currently lives and where she did her PhD on the European Commission’s response to the Global Financial Crisis 2008-2010. Before academia, she worked at European level for five and a half years, first as a political advisor in PES and then as a policy officer representing local and regional authorities at European level.  

Publications
Toward a progressive geopolitical EU

Principles and recommendations

In the face of a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, marked by global tensions and environmental challenges, this report outlines the evolution of the EU towards a geopolitical union. With the 2024 European elections approaching, the report proposes principles, which, taken together, provide for a dynamic, applicable framework that serves as a basis for practical engagement and policy formulation in fostering a progressive EU geopolitics.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Andreas Schieder, S&D MEP and Co Chair of Global Progressive Forum
Academic Mentor: Dimitris Tsarouhas. Professor of International Affairs. Global Fellow, The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars

Members
Publications
13/05/2024

Toward a progressive geopolitical EU

FEPS YAN Series