Dr Vladimir Bortun
Vlad is a political scientist interested in political elites, radical left parties, Euroscepticism, transnational politics.
With a background in political philosophy (BA and MA at the University of Bucharest) and European Studies (MA at the University of Portsmouth), he holds a PhD in political science from the University of Portsmouth (2019). His thesis explored the transnational networking and cooperation among left parties in Southern Europe during the Eurozone crisis.
Between 2019 and 2022, Vlad worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the ERC-funded project MIGRADEMO, hosted by the Department of Political Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The project explores the impact of migration on political processes in countries of origin. Vlad's work focused on the impact of migration experience on political elites.
As of the end of 2022, he works as a Postdoctoral Fellow on the ERC-funded project Changing Elites, hosted by the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford and dealing with how social and institutional change has altered the processes of elite formation in the UK over time. Here, Vlad focuses on the impact of social background on the ideology and decision-making of power elites.
His work is rooted in a materialist theoretical approach and has been published so far in the Journal of Common Market Studies and Capital & Class. His PhD thesis is due to be published in 2023 by Palgrave Macmillan under the title "Crisis, Austerity and Transnational Party Cooperation on the Radical Left: Southern Europe's Lost Decade".
Articles in peer reviewed journals
Bortun, Vladimir. (2022). Plan B for Europe: The Birth of ‘Disobedient Euroscepticism’? JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 60(5), 1416-1431 https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13313
Bortun, Vladimir. (2021). ‘SYRIZA and Podemos, we shall overcome’? Left transnational cooperation in times of crisis. Capital & Class. https://doi.org/10.1177/03098168211061585
Heard‑Lauréote, Karen, Bortun, Vladimir & Kreuschitz‑Markovic, Milan. (2020). The interest‑boosting effects of political simulations as university outreach activities with secondary school pupils in the UK. European Political Science, 19, 387–400 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-020-00257-y
Heard‑Lauréote, Karen, Bortun, Vladimir & Kreuschitz‑Markovic, Milan. (2019). The Effectiveness of Simulations as an Outreach Tool: Using Simulations to Boost Interest in EU-Related Higher Education Study. Journal of Contemporary European Research, 15(1), 94-109. https://doi.org/10.30950/jcer.v15i1.986
Other publications
Bortun, Vladimir. (2022). “Neither in, nor out: How the Eurozone crisis gave rise to Disobedient Euroscepticism”. The JCMS Blog. Available at: https://jcms.ideasoneurope.eu/2022/01/19/neither-in-nor-out-how-the-eurozone-crisis-gave-rise-to-disobedient-euroscepticism/?fbclid=IwAR0FDCNJYTGa1iPHSyb6wyU7OV-i-hwMPm39lREXXb-0AngJn8DdBw1P9Lw
Bortun, Vladimir. (2020). “Romanian legislative elections in the diaspora: record participation and the emergence of the nationalist vote”. MIGRADEMO Blog posts. Available at: https://migrademo.eu/romanian-legislative-elections-in-the-diaspora-record-participation-and-the-emergence-of-the-nationalist-vote/
Bortun, Vladimir. (2020). “Local elections in Romania reveal interesting nexus between return migration and local politics”. MIGRADEMO Blog posts. Available at: https://migrademo.eu/local-elections-in-romania-reveal-interesting-nexus-between-return-migration-and-local-politics/
Bortun, Vladimir. (2020). “Neither exit, nor reform: For a transitional approach to the EU”. Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Available at: https://brexitblog-rosalux.eu/2020/05/27/neither-exit-nor-reform/
Bortun, Vladimir. (2019). “The modest performance of radical left parties in the European elections reflected their limited transnational cooperation”. EUROPP – European Politics and Policy Blog. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2019/06/18/the-modest-performance-of-radical-left-parties-in-the-european-elections-reflected-their-limited-transnational-cooperation/#Author
Bortun, Vladimir. (2019). Book review of The Unfinished History of European Integration, by W. Meurs, R. Bruin, L. Grift, C. Hoetink, K. Leeuwen and C. Reijnen (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018). Journal of Common Market Studies, 57(1), 175-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12853
Bortun, Vladimir. (2019). “European elections in Romania”. Transform Europe blog. Available at: https://www.transform-network.net/focus/overview/article/ep-2019-the-european-left-one-mouth-many-voices/european-elections-in-romania/
Bortun, Vladimir. (2018). Book review of Anti-Austerity Left Parties in the European Union: Competition, coordination and integration, by E. Calossi (Pisa: Pisa University Press, 2016). Journal of Contemporary European Research, 14(1), 50-52
Bortun, Vladimir. (2009). “Robert Nozick: The dominant agency vs natural rights”. Romanian Journal of Analytic Philosophy, 2, 104-114
