Dr. Petra Bendel

Biography

Petra Bendel is a Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. With over 30 years of academic and professional experience in the fields of democracy, migration, and human rights, she leads various research projects and practical pilot projects related to migration issues. A founding member of the Center for Human Rights (CHREN), she engages in university teaching across several master’s and bachelor’s programs, emphasizing practical exchanges with policymakers. She has held significant advisory roles, including being a member of the advisory board on participation and integration for the North Rhine-Westphalia state government and chairing the expert council on migration and mobility for the Goethe Institute. Bendel's scholarly efforts include her habilitation on EU asylum and migration policy, for which she received the habilitation award from the Faculty of Humanities at FAU. Her doctoral dissertation focused on party systems in Central America. She has worked both domestically and internationally, including in Germany, Austria, Spain, and Latin America, and has served in various expert committees and advisory councils related to migration policy and integration.

Research Interests