Wiebke Marie Junk is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science. Her research interests link to public policy, comparative politics, European Union (EU) and global governance, and democratic participation.  Her work addresses policy processes at national and European Union (EU) level, and focusses especially on the influence of non-state actors on political decision-making.

From 2020-2023, she led the InterCov Project which assessed the role of lobbying after the outbreak of the global pandemic. Project outcomes include the book 'Viral Lobbying' and a series of journal articles on topics such as first mover advantages in lobbying, knowledge sharing among advocates, and the effects of political demand on lobbying strategies.

Previously, she was part of the GovLis Project (Short for: When does Government Listen to the Public?), which assessed conditions for government responsiveness to public opinion and interest groups. 

Wiebke's work has, for example, been published in the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS), Comparative Political Studies (CPS), Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP), European Journal for Political Research (EJPR), Governance, West European Politics (WEP), Research & Politics, Interest Groups & Advocacy, and European Journal of International Relations (EJIR). 

Wiebke obtained her PhD at the Department of Political Science in 2018 based on her dissertation on lobbying coalitions. She also holds a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (University of Oxford) and M.A. in International Relations (Free University Berlin, Humboldt University and Potsdam) with an exchange stay at the Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po Paris). 

She has worked at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and was junior consultant in the International Climate Initiative (IKI), funding body of the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. She also interned at Spiegel online, the NGO Facing Finance, and in a project for The Green Belt Movement with McKinsey Germany.

Wiebke's past and ongoing teaching includes courses on: Public Policy;  Institutions, Policy Processes and Policies in the EU; Lobbying and Interest Groups; Political Representation and Legitimacy; International Public Administration; and Advanced Methods in EU Studies. Moreover, she supervises Master theses and internship reports on a variety of topics related to public policy, European and EU politics.

Office hours: Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.