Konstantinos Kourtikakis is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science.
 

What is the focus of your current research?

I am fascinated by similarities between political systems, and I try to understand why different polities adopt similar institutions, ideas and norms. The European Union is front and center in my research, and in my most recent project I examine how transnational networks help spread EU institutions and norms to non-EU countries.
 

What classes do you teach? What are some of the topics of those classes?

I am a political scientists trained in the comparative politics tradition, and therefore comparing political systems is a big part of most of my courses. I think it's especially interesting to compare the European Union with national political systems in Europe but also with the United States. It is a fun exercise that leads to unexpected conclusions.
 

Do you have any recent awards, honors, or publications that you would like to highlight?

I am excited about the recent publication in the Journal of Common Market Studies of an article I co-authored with Ekaterina Turkina and Evgeny Postnikov about the role of civil society and business networks in EU-US relations. The article can be accessed here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcms.13126
 

What is a book (academic or non-academic, in or outside your field) that you think should be more widely read?

The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig. It doubles as a delightful account of the last days of the Habsburg empire and as a fascinating exploration of the tension between cosmopolitanism and nationalism is Europe in the first half of the 20th century that still resonates with us today.
 

Is there any additional information or advice you'd like to share?

There is value in understanding new and unfamilar cultures. That is my goal for the future.