Isabel Hilpert

Dr. Isabel Hilpert is a Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig since August 2020. Her work focuses on border studies, European integration dynamics, migration policies, and sovereignty negotiations within the EU framework. Prior roles include research and academic administration at Leipzig University (2012–2020), including as a lecturer in cultural sciences and academic staff in political science and contemporary history departments. She holds a PhD in European Sociology (2019) from Europa-Universität Flensburg.

Her research interests span border externalization, EU peripheral dynamics, and the socio-political implications of migration crises. Key projects include the Leibniz-Lab 'Umbrüche und Transformationen' exploring systemic upheavals and the EEGA Science Campus. Recent publications analyze EU border policing mechanisms, sovereignty in transnational contexts, and Mediterranean migration dynamics.

Publications include monographs on Italy's border practices and edited volumes on university teaching reforms. She actively reviews for journals like Space and Polity and Behemoth. Her work bridges political sociology with regional geography, emphasizing spatial policy analysis and EU institutional critiques.