Bernd Sommer

Bernd Sommer studied Social Sciences at Hanover University and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). After his graduation in 2002 he was appointed head of office and research assistant of Sebastian Edathy MP, chairman of the working group on right-wing extremism of the SPD parliamentary group in the German Bundestag. In May 2005 he became advisor on anti right-wing extremism policies of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. In December 2005 he enrolled as a PhD student at Hanover University. His PhD thesis deals with the relationship between social insecurity and right-wing extremism in Germany and is supervised by Professor Harald Welzer. In June 2006 he was awarded a scholarship by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) to fund the completion of his thesis.