Lazaros Karavasilis

Associated postdoctoral researcher 

Lazaros Karavasilis is an associated postdoctoral researcher at IRex, working in the field of Political Actors and Ideologies in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Léonie de Jonge. From June 2026 to 2029, he holds a fellowship funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung as part of a research project on the mainstreaming of far-right accelerationism (see below).
 

His research focuses on:

  • Far-right actors, movements, and networks
  • The mainstreaming of the far right Digital far-right presence
  • Fascism and post-fascism
  • Theories and actors of far-right accelerationism
     

Research Projects

Current research projects:
Mainstreaming Far-Right Accelerationism: Discourse, Ideology, and Techno-Futurism in a Comparative Perspective: The project investigates the rise of accelerationism—an emergent ideological constellation that fuses politics with techno-futurist imaginaries. Using comparative discourse, digital ethnographic and (social) media analysis across the U.S., U.K., and Germany, the study explores how accelerationist ideas critique liberal democracy, enable novel political alliances, and become mainstreamed. Key sources of analysis include foundational texts, as well as digital, social and mainstream media. By systematizing and analyzing how accelerationist ideas are constructed, iterated and circulated, the project maps processes of ideological cross-pollination between the various types of accelerationist currents, as well as between accelerationist and mainstream political ideologies, thus identifying the manner by which accelerationism moves from the fringes to the mainstream. By analyzing these emerging ideological trends that are, nonetheless, becoming increasingly politically prominent, the project fills a substantive empirical and theoretical gap in the literature and deduces associated societal and policy responses that inform and reinforce democratic resilience.

Finished Projects:
Between Populism and Radical Democracy, between Party and Movement: On The Discursive Afterlife Of Square Movements (PIs: Prof. Martin Nonhoff & Dr Seongcheol Kim, InIIS): Project focusing on the discursive-organisational afterlife of the square movements in Europe, focusing on six case studies: France, Greece, Germany, Russia, Spain, and Ukraine.

Book: Kim S., Karavasilis L. & Nonhoff M. (forthcoming). Party Organisation after the Square Movements in Europe, Edinburgh University Press.

 

 

Other Activities

Other activities and memberships (selection): 

  • Since 2022: European Consortium for Political Research (Standing Groups: Southern European Politics, Political Parties, Extremism and Democracy)
  • Since 2022: Centre for the Study of Democracy, Signification and Resistance- DESIRE (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
  • Since 2024: Reactionary Politics Research Network (University of Bath)
  • Since 2022: Institute for Alternative Politics (ENA) (Athens)
  • Since 2018: Political Studies Association Populism Specialist Group

Grants and prizes:

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Gerda Henkel Stiftung (2026-2029)
  • Doctoral Research Grant, Loughborough University (2017-2020)

CV

  • Since June 2026: Postdoctoral Research Associate at IRex in the field of Political Actors and Ideologies, University of Tübingen
  • Since June 2026: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Digital Transitions & Society (DIGITS), University of Nicosia
  • 2026-2027: Visiting Fellow, School of Social Sciences, University of Hasselt
  • 2022-2025: Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Institute for Intercultural and International Studies, University of Bremen
  • 2024: Seminar Tutor [Module Seminar: Far-Right in Europe and the Americas], Institute for Intercultural and International Studies, University of Bremen
  • 2022: PhD in Comparative Politics, School of Social Sciences, Loughborough University
  • 2017-2022: Postgraduate Researcher, Department of Politics and International Studies, Loughborough University
  • 2018-2019: Seminar Tutor [Module: The Contemporary World Arena], Department of Politics and International Studies, Loughborough University
  • 2015: MA in Political Analysis, Department of Political Science, Aristotle University
  • 2012: BA in Political Science, Department of Political Science, Aristotle University
     

Publications

Books

  • Kim S., Karavasilis L. & Nonhoff M. (forthcoming). Party Organisation after the Square Movements in Europe, Edinburgh University Press.

Journal Articles


Essays
 


Encyclopaedia Entries