Gustav Lundberg
PhD Candidate, Södertörn University, department of political science
Gustav Lundberg is a fifth-year PhD candidate in political science at Södertörn University in Stockholm, affiliated with the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES). His research focuses on ethnic divisions in political systems, and his forthcoming dissertation is focused on the ethnic divisions in the Latvian political system. Aside from his dissertation work, he teaches courses in comparative politics, international relations and the European Union politics at Södertörn University.
Statement of interest:
In my current research, I study the ethnopolitical party system of contemporary Latvia. During my Visiting Fellowship in Ljubljana, I hope to be able to develop new research projects focused at the intersection of ethnicity and politics. I will collaborate with the ERC project BENASTA to explore potential synergies and possible pathways for studying the ethnic politics of 19th and 20th century Central Europe, and particularly that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The project constitutes a continuation of my current work, in which I develop a theoretical framework of ethnic party competition. The model, which I call the ethnopolitical spiral, describes how rivalries between ethnic parties reshape party systems and contribute to increasing polarization and nationalism. The envisaged research project would aim to extend these theoretical contributions beyond my dissertation and apply them to historical cases. Austro-Hungarian ethnopolitics remains understudied in contemporary social sciences, and the project would therefore broaden the scope of ethnopolitical research within political science.
Selected Publications:
- Gustav Lundberg, “In pursuit of the authentic – Latvia’s intimate nationalism in the past, present and future”, Baltic Worlds 2025:4, 2025.
- Gustav Lundberg, “Pluralism in peril? Examining the protectionist turn in Latvian integration policy”, Journal of Baltic Studies 57:3, 2026.
- Gustav Lundberg and Magdalena Marija Meašić, “Only Songs Remain”, Europe-Asia Studies (forthcoming).
- Magdalena Marija Meašić and Gustav Lundberg, “Staging Memory: Kārlis Ulmanis in the Music Drama Vadonis (2009)”, Contemporary Theatre Studies (forthcoming)
- Gustav Lundberg, “Latvia in flux? How the Russian invasion of Ukraine transformed the Latvian party system”, Utrikespolitiska institutet, UI Report No. 3, 2024.
