Dr.Kevin Walz

I am a Political Scientist and Postdoc Researcher at the Unit of Political Theory and Public Policy at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). My work generally covers issues of democracy research. This includes not only the analysis of the current state of modern democracies and the comparison of political regimes and institutions, but also concerns issues of (normative) democratic theory. I am particularly interested in why some democracies prove to be more resilient facing certain challenges than others and what conclusions can be drawn from this for democratic decision-makers, civil society actors, and citizens. Finally, I am also interested in welfare states and how they have changed over time. My research is strongly theory-led and applies mainly case-oriented and comparative methods.

I earned my Ph.D. (Dr. phil.) at JGU in 2025 with my dissertation on "Pathways to Breakdown Resilience: When Sequences of Accountability Halt Democratic Erosion." Before I was employed at the Institute for Political Science at JGU, I was part of the Graduate Research Group "Resilient Institutions" and received a doctoral scholarship funded by the Gutenberg Council for Young Researchers. I hold a B.A. and M.A. in Political and Social Sciences from Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg.