Simon Cecchin Birk

Simon Cecchin Birk is a Researcher in the Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Humanities. His work bridges political analysis and environmental humanities, with a monograph in preparation titled The Shape of Populism in Italy (2024).

His research centers on Italian populist movements since the 1990s, examining socio-cultural styles, leadership ideologies, and democratic impacts. Recent expansion into Environmental Humanities focuses on political responses to drought, reflecting evolving scholarly priorities. Key methodologies include discourse analysis and comparative case studies of parties like Lega Nord and the Five Star Movement.

Publication trends reveal consistent analysis of Italian populism (2019-2023), with recent works increasingly addressing youth engagement in democracy and environmental crises. The 2023 collaborative chapter Youth and Democracy signals interdisciplinary collaboration across European institutions.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Princess Margrethe's Grant for scientific studies at the Danish Institute in Rome (2020)
• Best group project award in the Europeaum Scholars Programme (2021)
• Velux Foundation research grant collaboration (2023)
• Danish Institute in Rome stipend (2019)

Birk actively translates research into policy impact through 11 media contributions and 10 academic activities, including lectures on populism for Danish media and Scandinavian Italianist conferences. Current work includes drought response analysis and monograph completion.