Maximilian Kiecker Awarded Doctorate

Maximilian Kiecker successfully defended his dissertation “The EU Social Turn from a Nordic Perspective: Explaining Scandinavian Trade Union Positions on EU Social Policy” at the University of Cologne last December. In his work, he examines the different attitudes of Scandinavian countries towards European social policy: While Swedish and Danish social partners are often critical of new EU labor market regulations – such as the 2020 minimum wage directive – Finland takes a much more open-minded approach. These differences are noteworthy, as all three countries are considered to be social democratic role models. Using comparative analysis and elite interviews, Kiecker sheds light on these differing positions in three key areas: The EU’s social pillar, the posting of workers, and macroeconomic dialogue in the post-Laval era. His study offers valuable insights into the dynamics of European social policy from a Nordic perspective. Kiecker was a doctoral researcher at the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) from 2020 to 2024; since the beginning of January 2025, he has been a policy advisor in the Department for European and International Affairs at the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia. His doctoral research was supervised by Martin Höpner, a research group leader at the MPIfG and adjunct professor at the University of Cologne.