About me

I am a political scientist specializing in the history of political thought, with a focus on the circulation, contestation, and institutionalization of democratic ideas across France and the United Kingdom. My research integrates qualitative and digital methods to explore how political concepts evolve and shape our collective imagination.

 

I completed my PhD in political science in Paris and Montréal in 2020. Since then, I have held postdoctoral positions at the University of Jyväskylä and Queen Mary University of London, contributing to comparative projects on political representation and the history of liberal democracy. I am currently a Hannah Arendt Fellow at the University of Göttingen. 

 

In my forthcoming book, The Creation of ‘Liberal Democracy’ in France and Britain, 1919–2001 (Palgrave's Studies in Political History), I argue that 'liberal democracy', now taken as a stable normative ideal is, in fact, a historically contingent and politically constructed notion. By analyzing its rhetorical deployment in political discourse, I show how the concept became a legitimating label for increasingly technocratic and elitist forms of governance.

 

I am currently working on a project investigating the uses of the concept of 'liberal democracy' in Europe between 1989 and 2025, combining tools from conceptual history, digital humanities, and the sociology of ideas. In addition, I am also interested in exploring nineteenth-century conceptions of democracy 'from below', through mediums such as diaries and petitions.

 

Beyond research, I have taught courses in intellectual and conceptual history, political theory, and digital methods at universities in Finland, France, and Canada. I also write for broader audiences, with articles published in Liberté, Revue Projet, and Canadian Dimension.

 

When I'm not working, I'm usually busy climbing or learning the harmonica.