Grant Awarded for Research Excellence

Dr. Kerstin Hamann

Dr. Kerstin Hamann, professor of political science and chair of the department at UCF, was a recipient of the Miami-Florida European Union Center for Excellence’s (MEUCE) Faculty Research Grant. She plans to use the grant to continue her research on the recent financial crises in the European Union, especially the policy-making process and electoral consequences of austerity reforms.

She told MEUCE-FIU in their latest newsletter that her previous work analyzed the causes and consequences of union inclusion in policy reforms in Western Europe.

“I was very interested in finding out whether the austerity crisis changed patterns of union inclusion or exclusion, and whether union changed the way they interacted with the government,” Hamann said.

She stated that this crisis has profoundly affected national economies of countries within the EU and it has affected how political actors behave.

“Which groups are included or excluded in policy making is a question that is closely related to the quality and nature of democracy,” Hamann said.

In November, she will present a paper on this topic at a conference in Madrid, Spain and she plans on submitting it to an academic journal after revisions.

“Substantively, the research will help us understand better what the determinants and conditions are that influence policy making in Western Europe,” Hamann said.

To read more about Dr. Kerstin Hamann’s grant please click here.