I am a political scientist at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) and the Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies (SCEUS). Previously, I was a Lise Meitner Fellow (funded by the Austrian Science Fund – FWF) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the PLUS and SCEUS. I hold a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence.
Research profile
My research focuses on formal intergovernmental organizations (FIGOs) and the EU. In this area, I have advanced research on Joint Bodies (JBs), which are FIGOs included in a wide range of international agreements to facilitate implementation. I have also developed an EU Exit Index to measure each member state’s propensity to leave the EU, which suggests that no current member state is likely to follow the UK out of the EU. More recently, I have started working with Large Language Models and I am convinced that Artificial Intelligence will transform many aspects of political science research.
Publications and academic service
In 2024, my book “EU Trade Agreements and European Integration: Commission Autonomy or Council Control?” was published by Routledge as part of the UACES Contemporary European Studies series. The book examines a particularly fascinating period from the 1970s to the early 2000s, when the European Commission used its trade competences to help develop the EU into a comprehensive external actor. My other work has appeared in major international journals such as The Review of International Organizations, Review of International Political Economy, Journal of European Public Policy, Journal of Common Market Studies, European Union Politics, and European Political Science. You can find more details in the publications section. From 2022 to 2024, I was a member of the Steering Committee of the ECPR Standing Group on International Relations (SGIR). Since 2025, I serve on the Board of the Austrian Political Science Association (ÖGPW).
Teaching and European outreach
I am also deeply committed to teaching and aim to show my students that International Relations (IR) and EU Studies are fascinating areas of study. Since 2022, I have chaired the Working Group on European Integration at the PLUS School of Education, which seeks to foster understanding of European integration in public schools across Salzburg. One of our main outputs to date is our Europakoffer, a travelling Europe-themed teaching kit, which won Austria’s State Prize for Europe in 2026. Between 2009 and 2014, I was a member of the organizing team (équipe d’animation) of the Young European Citizens’ Convention in Cluny, France, bringing together students interested in learning more about the EU. In 2011, the convention was awarded the first prize (National Winner France) of the European Charlemagne Youth Prize, awarded jointly by the European Parliament and Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen.
Public engagement and professional experience
Outside academia, I aim to contribute to a vibrant democratic society. I am a member of Scientists for Future Salzburg and occasionally comment on current affairs in newspapers and scholarly blogs. I am particularly committed to exchange programs such as Erasmus or the European Solidarity Corps (formerly known as the European Voluntary Service). This led to my active involvement in Europe’s first European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) Fraternité 2020. I have also gained practical experience as a trainee (blue book stagiaire) at the European Commission in Brussels, the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin, and the European Affairs Office of the Land Salzburg.
You can connect with me on Bluesky, ResearchGate, and LinkedIn.