Verena Blechinger-Talcott

Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott serves as Professor of Japanese Politics and Political Economy at the Institute of East Asian Studies within the Department of History and Cultural Studies at Free University of Berlin. She holds dual leadership roles as Principal Investigator for the Knowledge Exchange Lab and Board member for the Research Unit Temporality, while also contributing to the Berlin Graduate School for Global and Transregional Studies (BGTS) Faculty.

Her research centers on Japanese and East Asian political systems with specialized focus on campaign finance mechanisms and government-business relations. She examines comparative political economy frameworks across East Asia, investigating institutional interactions between state actors and corporate entities, regulatory dynamics in political funding, and cross-national variations in governance structures. Her work bridges theoretical political science with empirical analysis of regional political economies.

As Principal Investigator for the Knowledge Exchange Lab, she directs transdisciplinary initiatives including the "Misogyny online" research project examining digital gender-based hostility. She actively shapes the Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS agenda through her Board role in Research Unit Temporality, exploring temporal dimensions of political contestation, while mentoring doctoral candidates through BGTS academic programs.