Abstracts and short CVs

Abstract
Switzerland has played a pioneering role in the history of academic freedom: in the wake of the liberal revolutions of 1830, the cantons of Bern and Zurich became the first democratic states in the world to establish new universities – and to guarantee them ‘academic freedom of teaching and learning’. Exactly what this meant was a source of political controversy from the very beginning. These controversies remain illuminating today, as they highlight three principles: Firstly, academic freedom can only exist in practice if it is protected by liberal elites; secondly, it is based on the belief that the spheres of science and politics can be separated despite mutual influences; and thirdly, academic activism becomes a problem for universities when researchers pursue political goals that are not shared by democratic majorities. Thus, the current attacks on academic freedom in the US do not come out of the blue.

Curriculum vitae
Caspar Hirschi is Professor of History at the University of St. Gallen. He studied in Fribourg and Tübingen and has taught at Cambridge and ETH Zurich. His research focuses on nationalism, populism, and the relationship between science and politics, especially in times of crisis. He is active as an expert in media and policy advising. He is the author of The Origins of Nationalism (Cambridge University Press, 2012), translated into Chinese and Russian, and Skandalexperten – Expertenskandale (Matthes & Seitz 2018). In 2022, he co-authored a report for the Swiss Science Council on scientific policy advice in crises that contributing to the development of the National Science Advice Network. He serves on the board of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Abstract
In her talk, Rahel Freiburghaus will reflect on the role of (political) scientists at a time when more countries are autocratizing simultaneously than ever before, and only 7% of the world’s population live in liberal democracies. Drawing on her own research and her experiences at US universities, she will highlight both the importance and the challenges of adapting this role to the multiple responsibilities of a (political) scientist, including research, teaching, and public engagement.

Curriculum vitae
Rahel Freiburghaus is a tenure-track assistant professor of Swiss and Comparative Politics at the Institut d’études politiques at the University of Lausanne since 2025. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in history and social sciences from the University of Bern, followed by a Master’s in Swiss and Comparative Politics. Between 2014 and 2023, she worked as a student assistant and PhD candidate at the University of Bern, completing her PhD with an award-winning monograph on Swiss federalism. During her postdoc, she conducted research stays at UCLA and Harvard University, examining the factors that contribute to the resilience of democracies in an era of democratic backsliding.

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Abstract
Migration studies have made important contributions by identifying processes such as the depoliticization of migration or the increasing logistification of migration policies. These changes have significant effects on migrant infrastructures, particularly for diversifying legal pathways, rights protection, access to justice and legal aid. Advocacy organizations have traditionally played a key role in defending migrant workers against wage theft, discrimination, lack of employment contracts, and the devaluation of skills and credentials. Advocates for better access to courts not only aim to redress mistreatment by immigration authorities when officials exceed their discretion when deciding over migrant hardship applications, but understand court cases to be valuable data to learn more about a migrant’s trajectory.

So far, research has been concerned with the causal relationship existing between advocacy efforts and changes happening in policy-making. Scholars studying advocacy often become part of the knowledge-production process themselves. As a result, researchers turn into study participants rather than neutral observers. Such bias is tolerated as long as the methodology acknowledges having been trained on judgment and interpretation.

Implicit bias aside, legal science should collaborate with advocacy groups which empower migrant workers to claim their right to justice, particularly when administrative remedies are denied. Court judgments provide valuable firsthand insights into migrants’ participation in labor markets, including the type of professions on demand, the availability of validation procedures for foreign qualifications, and the role of informal employment. Often, court cases are the only available personal records of migrants’ experiences. Therefore, ensuring access to justice is crucial not only for protecting migrants’ rights, but also for generating knowledge about labor market realities and informing policy development.

Curriculum vitae
Marion Panizzon, Ph.D. (U. Bern) LL.M. (Duke Law School) is a resident senior researcher of the World Trade Institute and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (FHNW). As researcher funded by nccr-trade regulation (2004-2014) and nccr-on the move (2015-2018), Marion’s thematic focus lies in governance theory as doctrinal approach to work migration and analyzing the different legal mobility pathways of trade agreements. Marion acts as deputy chair for the advisory board of the Center for Global Migration Studies (CeMig), Göttingen University and is on the board of the Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) ‘Migration und Bildung’ University of Bern. Marion has co-edited several collections on trade and migration, including GATS and the Regulation of International Trade in Services, Cambridge University Press 2008 (with Pierre Sauvé and Nicole Pohl) Multilayered Migration Governance, Routledge 2011 (with Sandra Lavenex and Rahel Kunz), ‘Multi-Level Governance of Migration in Times of Crisis’, Special Issue, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 2018 (with Micheline van Riemsdijk). She regularly consults on migration law and policy for the EU Asylum Agency, EU DG Trade most recently for EU DG Home. Marion’s recent publications include “How Courts Politicize Bilateral Migration Diplomacy”, Theoretical Inquiries in Law (2022); “Migration Narrative at the UN and in West Africa”, Geopolitics (2023, with Luzia Jurt).

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Abstract
Economists make value judgments when choosing the subject of analysis, the modeling framework, and – in normative analysis – the policy objective. Professional standards and incentives provide important checks in these areas through competition, transparency, and empirical scrutiny. Economists also make value judgments in deciding how to communicate their results. Because professional incentives do little to foster public engagement, the public debate is often shaped by individuals less engaged in rigorous research. Activists must take a stance on models and objectives; this is difficult to reconcile with maintaining a credible, disciplined approach to research.

Curriculum vitae
Dirk Niepelt is Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Bern; vice-dean; research fellow at CEPR (London), leading the Network on FinTech and Digital Currencies; affiliated with CESifo, SUERF, and Verein für Socialpolitik; and a member of the Bank of England’s CBDC Academic Advisory Group and the Foundation Council of Zukunft.li. He presided over the Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics; held positions at the Study Center Gerzensee (SNB), including director (2010–2022); worked at Stockholm University; held visiting or advisory roles at the ECB, IMF, SNB, and St. Louis FED; and worked at applied research institutes at HSG and ETH (FEW, KOF). He is the author of the MIT Press textbook Macroeconomic Analysis and holds a PhD from MIT and licentiate and doctorate degrees from HSG.

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Abstract
Scientists are only human and, therefore, personal biases are inevitable in science. The question is how to deal with them. An animal welfare scientist who consumes animal products and conducts animal experiments may have a different research agenda from one who is a vegan animal rights activist. However, their personal agenda is not a problem if they respect the principles of scientific integrity and good research practice. The problem arises when scientists fail to protect themselves against their personal biases affecting the findings of their research. Although there are effective instruments to protect research against personal biases (e.g. preregistration, blinding, systematic reviews), these are often neglected, leading to spurious results that may undermine trust in science and promote science populism.

Curriculum vitae
Hanno Würbel studied biology at the University of Bern and did a PhD in animal science at ETH Zürich. In 2002, he became professor for Ethology and Animal Welfare at the Justus-Liebig University Giessen, and since 2011 he is professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Bern. He studies how environmental conditions affect the behavior and welfare of animals, and how this relates to the validity and reproducibility of animal experiments. Besides academic duties, he is actively engaged in promoting ethically responsible and scientifically valid research, for example as coauthor of the ARRIVE Guidelines, former president of the Ethics Committee for Animal Experimentation of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Executive Board member of the Swiss 3R Competence Centre, and founding member of the Swiss Reproducibility Network.

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