Michael Stambolis-Ruhstorfer

Michael Stambolis-Ruhstorfer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Université Bordeaux Montaigne and Associate Professor at Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, where he serves as co-director of the Master's program in Gender Studies. A Junior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France, he holds a PhD in Sociology from UCLA and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (2015), with research focusing on how political, legal, and scientific institutions shape social change through expert knowledge.

His research follows two primary axes: 1) the role of 'experts' in controversial political issues including climate change, abortion, and same-sex marriage; and 2) the influence of cultural and legal contexts on how societies address sexuality and family. His comparative approach examines differences between the United States and Europe, particularly France, revealing how 'expert capital' is context-dependent and shaped by local institutional frameworks rather than universal scientific merit.

Stambolis-Ruhstorfer's influential book By the Power Vested in Me: How Experts Shape Same-Sex Marriage Debates (Columbia University Press, 2025) analyzes how decision-makers in the US and France relied on different types of experts during same-sex marriage legalization processes, demonstrating how cultural norms and institutional contexts determine which experts gain authority in democratic debates. His work has been published in journals including American Journal of Cultural Sociology, Social Movement Studies, and Annual Review of Sociology.

His research has received significant funding from the National Science Foundation (US), IdEx Bordeaux, Institut Universitaire de France, and the Fulbright Commission. As associate editor of the International Social Science Journal and frequent peer reviewer for major sociology publications, he plays an active role in academic knowledge production.

• Dissertation Year Fellowship, UCLA (2014)
• Karpf Peace Prize, UCLA (2012-2013)
• Chateaubriand Fellowship, Fulbright Commission (2012)
• European Studies Fellowship, UCLA (2012)

Stambolis-Ruhstorfer coordinates multiple academic initiatives including the Gender and Sexualities Research sessions at the Council for European Studies and Sociology of Culture Roundtables at the American Sociological Association. His current project analyzes 'experts' in climate change and abortion debates across the US and France, continuing his examination of how knowledge gains political traction in democratic societies.