Rouven Symank returned to Berlin—where he had previously earned an M.A. from Humboldt-Universität—after completing his Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute to join the SCRIPTS Cluster of Excellence and the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin. His current research employs political theory and qualitative methodologies to explore topics of solidarity, justice, and challenges facing liberal democracy. At SCRIPTS, Symank has contributed to the project Objects from Afar and Sustainable Liberal Identity, leading to a forthcoming peer-reviewed special issue co-edited with Prof. Dr. Philipp Lepenies, which builds on a project workshop held with colleagues from three continents in March 2024.

In addition to contributing the SCRIPTS Excellence Cluster, Symank is also Principal Investigator, alongside Dr. Alexandra Paulin-Booth, of the Berlin University Alliance funded project The Restitution Think Tank. Its most recent installation was on October 10, 2025, at the SCRIPTS Villa in Berlin.

Symank has also recently been recognized by the Council for European Studies as winner of the 2025 European Studies First Article Prize for his article, “Durkheim’s Empire: The Concept of Solidarity and Its Colonial Dimension” (American Political Science Review, 2024).

Symank is set to join Harvard University’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies as a John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow and Visiting Scholar starting in January 2026. During his 12-month fellowship, Symank will contribute to the Center’s research and finalize a book manuscript tentatively titled “The Global Politics of Cultural Restitution.” The book aims to synthesize findings from his SCRIPTS project to analyze the restitution of cultural heritage, engaging with normative debates on global justice and historical reconciliation.

In the meantime, Symank has a busy winter semester ahead, including teaching a course on Democracy and the Politics of Solidarity at Freie Universität’s Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science, and a planned upcoming fieldwork trip to Nigeria and Benin City, where the Museum of West African Art is scheduled to open in November.

During his fellowship at Harvard, Symank shared that he will miss Berlin, and is grateful for all the opportunities and wonderful colleagues at SCRIPTS.