Robert Rohrschneider receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Austria

LAWRENCE — Robert Rohrschneider, the Sir Robert Worcester Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to travel to Austria to conduct research on European illiberal parties.

In spring 2024, Rohrschneider will spend four months in Austria gathering research on illiberal parties, which endorse limiting the rights of political minorities, the free press or constitutional courts, while also supporting free elections. Rohrschneider’s research will explore why illiberal parties exist in diverse countries such as Austria and Poland. During his stay, Rohrschneider will be affiliated with the faculty of social sciences at the University of Vienna.

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards are prestigious and competitive fellowships that provide unique opportunities for scholars to teach and conduct research abroad, as well forge partnerships with international institutions. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries.   

Rohrschneider’s research will contribute to a new book, which is under advance contract with Oxford University Press, on the rise of illiberal political parties in Europe. While in Austria, Rohrschneider plans to interview parliamentarians from the Austrian Freedom Party. The far-right Freedom Party is one of Western Europe’s most successful illiberal political parties, having participated in various Austrian governments since 1983, including belonging to the governing coalition from 2017 to 2019.

Rohrschneider’s research will explore if government participation shaped the party’s illiberalism. Ultimately the book will examine if the rise of illiberal parties signal a death of democracies and a threat to Europe’s liberal regimes, or if they are relics of a bygone era.

“The Fulbright award will facilitate my research because immediately upon arrival it connects me with the scholarly community in the social sciences in Austria and elsewhere in Europe. It will therefore contribute enormously to the completion of the book,” Rohrschneider said.

In addition to research, Rohrschneider plans to offer lectures at the University of Vienna and within the European Union. Through the Fulbright Award, Rohrschneider hopes to strengthen KU’s relationship with the University of Vienna.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.