Studied Political Science, Law and Psychology at Eastern Illinois University and the University of Passau; 2004 Dissertation on Right- and Left-Wing Populism at the University for Technology Chemnitz (summa cum laude; in German). Later positions in the German Parliament, at the Brussels-based think tank Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and as political consultant in Tallinn/Estonia (Managing Director of Hanse Advice); Lecturer at the Catholic University of Eichstätt and the University for Police Saxony-Anhalt, both in Germany; Official investigator for the City of Munich in the case of the Munich attacks 22nd July 2016.

Research focus: Populism, Extremism, Terrorism, Digitalization.

Publications:

Lone Wolves. The New Terrorism of Right-Wing Actors, Springer Nature, Cham/Schweiz et al, 2020 (also published in German, Hamburg: Hoffmann & Campe 2018 and 2020).

e-Estonia. Europe´s Silicon Valley or a new 1984?, in: Denise Feldner (ed.): Redesigning Institutions: Consequences of and Concepts for the Digital Transformation, Springer Nature: Heidelberg et al. 2020, pp. 215-228

Materalizations of Populism in Today´s politics: Global Perspectives, in: Barbara Christophe et al. (eds.): The Politics of Authenticity and Populist Discourses, Media and Education in Brazil, India and Ukraine, London, Palgrave Macmillan 2021, pp. 31-52.

with Hidenori Tsutsumi and Boyu Chen: Digital parties as personalistic-authoritarian business firm models. Is Japan following European trends?, in: Oscar Barberà et al. (eds.): Digital Parties. The Challenges of Online Organisation and Participation, Springer Nature: Heidelberg et al. 2021, pp. 269-286.

with Mario Schäfer: Searching for the philosopher´s stone. Counter-Strategies against Populism, in: Michael Oswald (ed.): The Palgrave Handbook of Populism, Palgrave Macmillan: London 2022, pp. 665-685.