Florence Ertel

Since April 2025

• Researcher at the Chair of Political Communication with a Focus on Eastern Europe and the Post-Soviet Region within the project Authoritarian AI: How large language models are adapted to Russia's propaganda funded by the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt)

November 2018 – July 2025

• Research Associate and PhD Candidate at the Jean-Monnet-Chair of European Politics, University of Passau, (Prof. Dr. Daniel Göler)
• PhD project on "European issues in election campaigns: Opportunities and challenges of applying blended reading methods in European integration research” (thesis defence on 6 February 2026)
• Research, including the Jean Monnet Network EUCON: The EU and the EEU Between Conflict and Competition, Convergence and Cooperation and the
• DFG-Project Web archiving

Since February 2023

• Lecturer at Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
• EU external relations and international business

September 2022 – March 2025

• Director Science Hub for Europe and Strategic Advisor to the University Vice-President for Europe

November 2018 – June 2021

• Research Associate at the Chair of Digital Humanities (Prof. Dr. Malte Rehbein)

May 2016 – October 2018

• Online News Journalist at Passauer Neue Presse

2010 – 2016

• University of Passau Bachelor's and Master's degree in Governance and Public Policy

Ertel, F. (forthcoming). French and German political and public discourses facing the return of geopolitics. In D. Deschaux-Dutard et al. (eds.), The stumbling blocks in the Franco-German strategic relationship: Legacy, misunderstandings and challenges. De Gruyter.

Ertel, F., & Gassner, S. (2026). EU permacrisis through national lenses: A blended reading analysis of Austrian and German election manifestos (2002–2025) using BERTopic and LLM. Austrian Journal of Political Science, 50(1), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.15203/4242.vol55.2026.

Ertel, F., & Göler, D. (2025). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2025 (pp. 379–394). Nomos. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748950950

Ertel, F., & Plottka, J. (2025). Der Krieg in der Ukraine und die Zukunft der Östlichen Partnerschaft: Geopolitische Chancen für die EU. In W. Gieler & M. Nowak (eds.), Deutschlands Ukraine-Politik – Strategie und Risikoeinschätzung in den Bereichen Entwicklung, Außenbeziehungen und Sicherheit (pp. 167-186). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47697-7_11

Ertel, F. (2025). La géopolitique dans la présidentielle de 2022: Analyser les campagnes électorales avec le blended reading. Allemagne d’aujourd’hui, 251, 160–172. https://doi.org/10.3917/all.251.0160

Ertel, F., & Göler, D. (2025). European defence: Developments, challenges and gaps in institutions, instruments and strategies. In M. Jopp & J. Pollak (Eds.), The lackluster worldpower: The European Union’s geopolitics (pp. 53–77). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74587-4

Ertel, F., & Plottka, J. (2025). A macropolitical risk analysis of Kazakhstan: Recent changes in the internal and external context of a Central Asian state. In C. E. Sottilotta, J. Campisi, J. Leitner, & H. Meissner (Eds.), Routledge handbook of political risk (pp. xxx–xxx). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003456117

Ertel, F., & Göler, D. (2024). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2024 (pp. 387–394). Nomos. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748940845

Ertel, F., & Plottka, J. (2024). The European Union’s foreign policy facing war in Ukraine: Security dimension in the future role of the Eastern Partnership. In P. Ertl (Ed.), Security through unity: Europe’s status after Ukraine crisis (Publication Series of the National Defense Academy 18/2024). National Defense Academy.

Plottka, J., Ertel, F., & Stellwag, M. (2024). Die EU vor der Erweiterung: Sicherheitspolitische Prioritäten für die Wirtschaftsstandorte Deutschland und Österreich. Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter, 1, 43–61. https://doi.org/10.2478/wpbl-2024-0011

Plottka, J., Ertel, F., Crawford, C., & Stellwag, M. (2024). Potentiale deutsch-österreichischer Kooperation zum Umgang Europas mit den Folgen des Klimawandels. Analysen und Argumente (No. 520). Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. https://www.kas.de/documents/252038/29391852/Potentiale+deutsch-%C3%B6sterreichischer+Kooperation+zum+Umgang+Europas+mit+den+Folgen+des+Klimawandels+%281%29.pdf

Plottka, J., & Ertel, F. (2024). The status of Transnistria and neutrality: Major obstacles for Moldova’s EU accession and little incentives for reforms. NEXT4EU: Perspektiven auf Moldaus EU-Integration. Institut für Europäische Politik. https://iep-berlin.de/site/assets/files/3637/next4eu_publication_transnistrien_plottka_ertel.pdf

Ertel, F., & Plottka, J. (2024). Re-united in diversity? Challenges and opportunities in the dialogue with Gagauzia for Moldova’s EU accession. NEXT4EU: Perspektiven auf Moldaus EU-Integration. Institut für Europäische Politik. https://iep-berlin.de/site/assets/files/3637/next4eu_publication_gagausien_ertel_plottka.pdf

Ertel, F., & Göler, D. (2023). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2023 (pp. 351–356). Nomos. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748939405

Ertel, F., et al. (2023). Using web archives for an explorative study of the web presence of German parties during the European election 2019. Quality & Quantity, 58, 603–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-023-01654-3

Ertel, F., & Plottka, J. (2023). Internal and external political contestation in Kazakhstan: Analysing political risks of the Kazakh president’s foreign and economic policy response to demonstrators’ demands. Wirtschaft und Management: Schriftenreihe zur wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Forschung und Praxis, 33, 19–36.

Ertel, F., & Göler, D. (2022). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2022 (pp. 353–358). Nomos.

Reiter, F. (2022). Die Rolle der Europawahl 2019 in der Online-Medienberichterstattung: Eine blended reading Analyse am Beispiel von Spiegel-Online. Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 2, 839–864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41358-022-00325-3

Göler, D., & Reiter, F. (2021). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2021 (pp. 343–348). Nomos.

Göler, D., & Reiter, F. (2021). The Bundeswehr in German newspaper coverage: Using text mining for analysing strategic culture. German Politics, 32(2), 209–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2021.1937602

Göler, D., & Reiter, F. (2020). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2020 (pp. 357–362). Nomos.

Göler, D., & Reiter, F. (2019). Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik. In W. Weidenfeld & W. Wessels (eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2019 (pp. 325–330). Nomos.

Göler, D., & Reiter, F. (2019). “Let’s archive!” Die Dokumentation internetbasierter Daten als neue Herausforderung für die europäische Integrationsforschung. Integration, 42

(4), 321–328. doi.org/10.5771/0720-5120-2019-4-321

2025

• Ertel, F. (2025). French and German Public Opinions Facing the Return of Geopolitics. Conference Presentation. University Association for Contemporary European Studies UACES 55th Annual Conference 2025, Liverpool, United Kingdom, August 31 – September 3.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2025). Diverging Strategic Cultures as an Obstacle to a Security and Defence Dimension in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood? Conference Presentation. International Council for Central and East European Studies ICCEES XI World Congress, London, United Kingdom, July 21 – 25.
• Ertel, F. (2025). A Political Risk Analysis of Kazakhstan: Recent Changes in the Internal and External Context of a Central Asian State. Conference presentation. International Studies Association ISA 66^th Annual Conference 2025, Chicago, United States, March 2 – 5.

2024

• Ertel, F. (2024). La Géopolitique dans la campagne électorale Européenne de 2024: Une analyse des programmes des partis en Allemagne et en France. Conference Presentation. CIERA-Internationale Tagung Die geopolitische Wende der EU-Außenpolitik: Perspektiven nach den Europawahlen 2024, Passau, Germany, October 17 – 18.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2024). Geopolitical Challenges of EU Foreign Policy in the Wider Neighbourhoods: Kazakhstan in Focus, Conference presentation. DKU International Conference Central Asia’s Transformations: Politics, Economics and Society, Almaty, Kazakhstan, September 6 – 9.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2024). Recent Changes in the Internal and External Context of a Central Asian State. Conference presentation. British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies BASEES Annual Conference 2024, Cambridge, United Kingdom, April 5 – 7.

2023

• Ertel, F. (2023). Le discours géopolitique dans les présidentielles en France en 2022. Conference Presentation. CIERA-Colloque International: Le retour de la géopolitique en Europe. La France, l’Allemange et l’UE face aux nouveaux défis internationaux. Metz, France, November 22 – 23.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2023). European Union’s Foreign Policy facing War in Ukraine – the Future Role of the Eastern Partnership. Conference presentation. Civil-Military Relations Conference 2023 “Security through Unity: Europe’s Challenges after Ukraine Crisis”, Vienna, Austria, September 13 – 15.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2023). Views from Central Asia and the Caucasus: Kazakhstan, Armenia and Russia. Conference presentation. The European Union, Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road: Perceptions, practices and risks in Eurasia, Budapest, Hungary, May 12 – 13.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2023). Changing Perceptions in EU-EEU Relations: A Driver for Changing Foreign and Defence Policy. Conference presentation. British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies BASEES Annual Conference 2023, Glasgow, United Kingdom, March 31 – April 2.
• Ertel, F., Plottka, J. (2023). Zeitenwende: Sudden Change or Tipping Point of a Long-term Trend of Changing Perceptions? Paper accepted. 6^th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP6), Toronto, Canada, June 27 – 29.

2022 (formerly Reiter)

• Göler, D., Reiter, F. (2023). Military ethics and popular culture: An analysis of movies about military missions of the German Bundeswehr. Conference presentation. International Society for Military Ethics in Europe EuroISME 2022 Annual Conference, Budapest, Hungary, May 18 – 20.

2021

• Donig, S., Eckl, M., Gassner, S. Reiter, F., Rehbein, M. (2021). Blind Spots & Silent Pages - Distant Readings of the Archived Web. Conference presentation. RESAW - A Research Infrastructure for the Study of Archived Web Materials 4^th Conference, Remote, June 14 – 18.

2020

• Eckl, M., Donig, S., Gassner, S. Reiter, F., Göler, D. Rehbein, M. (2020). Der Event Crawl als Ansatz für den Aufbau von Webarchiven am Beispiel von politischen Wahlkämpfen. Conference presentation. 7. Jahrestagung des Verbands Digital Humanities im Deutschsprachigen Raum, Paderborn, Germany, March 2 – 6.

2019

• Reiter, F., Eckl. M., Göler, D. (2019). Big-Data-Challenges: Web archives as database for political science? A case study on the framing of European issues during the Bavarian regional election 2018 and the European Parliament election 2019 – first results. Paper accepted. 4^th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4), Montreal, Canada, June 26 – 28.