Julia Baumann

Julia Baumann is a Research Fellow at the Department of Political Science, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, specializing in comparative authoritarianism with a regional focus on Eurasia. She joined the Geschwister-Scholl-Institute in 2019 and works at the Chair of Comparative Political Systems (focus on CIS and Eastern Middle Europe). Contact details: Room 1.68, Oettingenstr. 67, Munich; Phone: +49 (0) 89 2180 9077; Email: baumann.julia@lmu.de. Office hours: Wednesdays, 10–11 p.m.

• Education:
  • M.A. in Politics and Security from University College London (UCL) and Higher School of Economics Moscow (HSE), 2017
  • B.A. in European Studies from Magdeburg and St. Petersburg, 2011–2015

Research Interests center on electoral authoritarianism, local elections in authoritarian regimes, and opposition strategies under competitive authoritarianism, particularly in Russia. Her work explores subnational authoritarian dynamics and legitimation strategies through case studies in Orel, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladimir.

Publication Trends reflect her focus on electoral processes in autocracies, with contributions on Russia-Belarus authoritarian cooperation, regional opposition, and corporate lobbying mechanisms. Her methodological approach combines qualitative case studies, process tracing, and analysis of interviews, press reports, and social media.