Julian Apel

// DISSERTATION PROJECT

Title: The Role of Non-State-Actors and Participation in Transboundary Water Management: A Multi-Level Governance Perspective.

Abstract:

This dissertation explores the role of non-state actors in transboundary water management (TWM) in Europe through the combined lenses of Multi-Level Governance (MLG) and Collaborative Governance (CG). The project addresses two interlinked research questions: (A) Under what institutional conditions do non-state actors, including NGOs, academia, businesses and civil society— actively participate in TWM? (B) Under which conditions does this participation contribute to more effective and sustainable management outcomes?

Drawing on MLG as a heuristic framework and CG as the central explanatory theory, the study develops two causal mechanisms. The first traces how institutional frameworks (e.g., the EU Water Framework Directive) create participatory obligations that foster structured stakeholder inclusion. The second examines how, through formalized collaborative arenas, the integration of local knowledge and trust-building processes lead to higher compliance, legitimacy and ultimately to more efficient TWM ecologically. 

Using a comparative case study design and process-tracing methodology, the project analyses a selected number of transboundary water bodies across three clusters: EU-only, Mixed (EU and Non-EU), and Non-EU. A truth table guides the case selection based on institutional context, participation intensity, and management outcomes. 

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// ACADEMIC BACKGROUND   

2017 – 2021 
Bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Bamberg

2021 – 2024
Master’s degree in political science at the University of Bamberg

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// EXPERIENCE

Work experience / Professional Experience

2018 – 2019
Student assistant at the Chair of Empirical Political Science

2020 – 2023 
Student assistant at the Chair of Early Childhood Education Research

Since 2024  
Research Associate and PhD Candidate at the Chair of European and International Politics

Non-academic experience

2010 – 2013 
Apprenticeship as Logistics Specialist at PEMA GmbH, Herzberg

2016 – 2017 
Work experience as Logistics Specialist at Hubert & Co. Bookbinding, G?ttingen

Image Credits: ? Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences