Eva Maria Heims

Eva Maria Heims is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of York, where she conducts research and teaching in regulatory governance, political economy, and public policy. Her work bridges historical and contemporary regulatory studies, focusing on issues such as regulatory capture, international cooperation, and state regulation.

Her research interests center on regulatory governance, with a particular emphasis on regulatory capture, institutional resilience, and the historical development of regulatory states. She investigates how regulatory bodies maintain autonomy from industry influence, especially in high-stakes sectors like pharmaceuticals and financial services. Her work combines historical institutionalism with contemporary policy analysis, offering insights into how past regulatory frameworks shape current practices.

The recent trends in her publications reveal a strong focus on preventing regulatory failure, designing resilient regulatory institutions, and understanding international regulatory cooperation under conditions of mistrust. Her work spans both theoretical and practical domains, including practitioner-oriented guides and scholarly analyses of long-term regulatory evolution.

Scientific Awards:

• Executive Politics and Governance Specialist Group Early Career Award (2014)
• LSE Government Department Teaching Award (2013)
• LSE Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation Doctoral Prize (2013)

Research Leadership and Grants: Dr Heims was the Principal Investigator on the ESRC-funded project Re-evaluating Regulatory Capture: The Limits of Industry Influence in Pharmaceutical and Consumer Financial Regulation (2020–2023), which examined how regulatory bodies resist industry pressure. She has also served as a peer reviewer for leading journals including Political Studies and Economy and Society, and has been a member of editorial boards and research groups.

Labs and Research Groups: She chaired the seminar series Regulatory Capture Re-visited in January 2024, indicating active leadership in collaborative research networks focused on governance and regulation.