Josef Lolacher is a DPhil (PhD) candidate in Politics, under the supervision of Professor Rachel Bernhard (Nuffield College). His research explores differences in elite decision-making under conditions of uncertainty and ambiguity. In his PhD project, he particularly investigates the role of expert knowledge and public opinion in the decision-making of members of parliament (MPs) in a set of European democracies. Informed by his background in political science and psychology, his work engages across disciplines (political science, IR, behavioural economics, and psychology) and seeks to explain (1) how MPs decide on policies when expert knowledge and public opinion conflict; (2) why some MPs tend to follow the advice of experts, while others favour public opinion; (3) and under what conditions MPs are likely to update their policy positions in either direction.
Beyond his PhD research, he is Research Coordinator of the ‘Europe in a Changing World Project’ of the Dahrendorf Programme at the European Studies Centre (St Antony’s College, Oxford) and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations, teaching ‘Politics of the European Union’ and ‘Politics in Europe’.
Before his doctoral studies at Oxford, he obtained an MPhil in Politics (European Politics and Society) from the University of Oxford (with Distinction) and a BA in Political Science (ranked first in his cohort) from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich.
Research interests
- substantive: political psychology; elite decision-making; the role of evidence and public opinion in policymaking; populism and technocracy
- methodological: elite surveys and experiments; qualitative interviews
- regional: Europe and the US
Undergraduate Teaching
- Politics of the European Union (PPE & HistPOL)
- Politics in Europe (PPE & HistPOL)
Publications
Peer-reviewed
Lolacher, J., Heinkelmann-Wild, T., Kriegmair L., Rittberger B., & Zangl, B. (2024): The policy implementation hypothesis, in European Blame Games. Where does the buck stop?, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Other publications
T. Garton Ash & Lolacher, J. (eds.) (2024): Europe and Freedom, Dahrendorf Programme at the European Studies Centre, University of Oxford.
Lolacher, J. and Vériter, S. (2021): ‘Democracy’, in: Timothy Garton Ash (ed.), Young Europeans Speak to EU (pp. 65-82), Dahrendorf Programme at the European Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Scholarships
- 2021-24: Fellow, “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes” - monthly stipend and contribution to tuition fees
- 2021: Fellow, “German Academic Exchange Service” (DAAD) - monthly stipend and contribution to tuition fees
- 2020: Fellow, “Max Weber-Program of Bavaria” (part of the Elite Network Bavaria)
