Welcome!
My Name is Elena. I am a Post-doctoral Researcher in the EVOLV’EP - MEPs’ Career & Behaviour Project at the Departement de Sciences Politiques, Sociales et de la Communication at the University of Namur, Belgium.
My research interests lie in the broad areas of comparative political institutions, representation, European legislative politics, parties, political careers, parliamentary behaviour and decision-making as well as gender.
-> Please find information on my current research project about Gendered Political Careers and on Parents in Politics on this website.
My work has been published in European Union Politics, International Organization, Legislative Studies Quarterly and other peer reviewed journals. My book "Re-Selecting Members of the European Parliament" on party goals and candidate selection for the European Parliament elections in Germany has been published with Springer VS.
News:

March 2025: The Special Issue I edited on "Gendered EUropean careers? Representation and the challenges in women's political careers" will appear in EUP soon! Please find an overview of challenges faced by women in European Politics here.

October 2024: The first results from my research on Parents in Parliament with Stefanie Bailer and Sarah Bütikofer will appear in Swiss Political Science Review soon!
August 20, 2022: In an interview with K. Kaelin, a journalist, I explained how children and other private information can help politicians in their campains. Please find the resulting press articles, explaining the campain behavior of Swiss politicians in the Luzerner Zeitung and the BZBasel Online.