About me

My name is Magdalena Bernaciak and I am a Coordinator of the Jean Monnet Module ‘Social Policy and Politics in the EU’ (SPPEU). I work as Assistant Professor in Politics and European Studies at the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG), where I teach courses introductory and specialised courses on EU politics and EU policy-making, as well as modules on comparative politics and social science research methods.

I hold an MA degree in European Studies / International Relations from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, and an MA and PhD degrees from the Central European University, Budapest. Prior to my appointment at AUBG, I worked for 7 years as a Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) – a socio-economic research and training institution based in Brussels that serves as a bridge between academics and policymakers. My academic and professional background is therefore directly related to the theme of the Module.

My research interests encompass broadly defined EU social dimension. I have published extensively on the political economy of EU eastern enlargement; intra-EU labour migration and its regulation; interest group politics at EU and national levels; employment relations in CEE; and transnational cooperation among trade unions. To make my research results available to diverse audiences, I have published peer-reviewed academic articles, open-access working papers, reports for external foundations and blog posts; I have also given interviews and provide commentaries on current events to national press in several European countries.

Selected peer-reviewed publications:

‘Unions for Whom? Union Democracy and Precarious Workers in Poland and Italy’ [with Stefania Marino, Adam Mrozowicki and Valeria Pulignano]. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2019, 40(1): 111-131.

‘Weak Labour, Strong Interests: Polish Trade Unions and the Integration of EU Energy and Service Markets’ [with Aleksandra Lis]. Journal of Common Market Studies, 2017, 55(3): 432-448.

Market Expansion and Social Dumping in Europe. London and New York: Routledge, 2015. Editor and author of the book’s conceptual framework.

‘Challenges of Upgrading: The Dynamics of East Central Europe’s Integration into the European Automotive Networks’ [with Vera Šćepanović]. German Journal of Industrial Relations/ Industrielle Beziehungen, 2010, 17(2): 123-146.

‘Cross-border Competition and Trade Union Responses in the Enlarged EU: Evidence from the Automotive Industry in Germany and Poland’. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2010, 16(2): 199-135.