Michael Bechtel joins the Econtribute Cluster of Excellence, the Department of Political Science and European Affairs, and the Cologne Center for Comparative Politics at the University of Cologne as Professor of Political Economy, starting 1 January 2022.

Previously, Michael was Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also served as Director of the Environmental Policy study programme. Prior to that, he held a faculty position at the University of St. Gallen. Between 2008 and 2012, he was a post-doctoral researcher at ETH Zurich after having completed his PhD in Political Science at the University of Konstanz in 2008.

Michael’s research interests are in international and comparative political economy, economic and environmental policy, and political behaviour and survey methods. His interdisciplinary research agenda explores questions that figure prominently in both political science and economics. His academic work investigates how countries can address economic and environmental risks that tend to require redistribution. Current projects focus on the drivers of mass support for global climate action and the impact of economic crises and natural disasters on elections. We invite you to read about his publications and research programme on his personal website.

We are excited and very fortunate to be able to welcome Michael as our new colleague, and we wish Michael a great start in Cologne!