Team

Florian Fastenrath is Junior Professor of Comparative Political Economy, with a research focus on inequality. His work sits at the crossroads of public policy analysis, comparative and international political economy, and political sociology. He is particularly interested in how socio-economic and political inequalities intersect, especially in the context of political representation.

His research explores both sides of the representation process: how citizens form policy priorities and preferences, and how political elites perceive and respond to public demands through policymaking. He is committed to methodological innovation, blending qualitative approaches such as elite interviews, focus groups, and deliberative polling to better understand public opinion and political responsiveness.

His broader research interests include the politics of inequality and redistribution, public finance, and financialisation. His work has been published in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Journal of European Public Policy, and Review of International Political Economy.

Before taking on his current role, Florian Fastenrath held postdoctoral positions at the universities of Bonn (2023–25) and Duisburg-Essen (2020–23), and research positions at the University of Cologne, where he completed his PhD in 2019. He also served as Substitute Professor for Policy Analysis and Political Economy at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau (2024–25).

Bjarne Behrens has been a doctoral researcher at the College and member of the research group ‘Political Economy of Inequality’ since October 2025. His research focuses on the role of public discourse in preference formation, with a particular interest in climate policy and distributive implications of environmental transitions. Bjarne Behrens completed his Master’s degree in Socio-Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen and his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations at Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden).

Anna Doumanas is a doctoral researcher in the research group ‘Political Economy of Inequality’ at the College (since August 2026), working on the project ‘Public Acceptance of Social Wealth Policy’. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin and a Master’s degree in Socio-Economics from the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Her research focuses on the implications of the digitalisation of work for social security policies grounded in the idea of a democratic social contract. Her current work examines public support for new social wealth policy measures, taking into account potential regional differences in the perception of economic inequality and the welfare state, gender differences in financial socialisation, and the drivers of individualisation contributing to a libertarian-authoritarian shift in attitudes.

Philippa Everz has been a member of the research group ‘Political Economy of Inequality’ since October 2025. In her research, she explores the role of social class and class consciousness in perceptions of inequality and in support for redistribution. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy & Economics from the University of Bayreuth and a Master's degree in Socio-Economics from the University of Duisburg-Essen. During her Master's studies, she spent a semester abroad at the Department of Economics at The New School for Social Research in New York (USA).