Tobias Hillenbrand is a Ph.D. candidate in UNU-MERIT's Innovation, Economics, Governance and Sustainable Development programme.
Tobias Hillenbrand is a researcher specializing in public attitudes toward immigration, refugee protection, and asylum policy. His work includes large-scale survey experiments – primarily quantitative, but also qualitative – to better understand the role of humanitarianism, migration messaging, and attitudes toward orderly forms of refugee protection. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Public Policy (summa cum laude) from Sciences Po Paris, a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Mainz.
During his PhD, Tobias was a visiting researcher at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. He has gained professional experience in academic teaching, research institutes, and the development sector. He also brings extensive communication expertise, having presented his research at academic conferences, in government ministries, and through workshops with high school and university students – as well as leading communication workshops for fellow PhD researchers.
Publications:
Hillenbrand, Tobias, Bruno Martorano & Melissa Siegel, 2025, Not as innocent as it seems? The effects of "neutral" messaging on refugee attitudes, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2025-011
Hillenbrand, Tobias & Melissa Siegel, 2025, Reforms welcome?! This is where Germans agree on refugee and asylum migration, Blog post website UNU-MERIT, More information
Hillenbrand, Tobias, Bruno Martorano, Laura Metzger & Melissa Siegel, 2025, Humanitarian concerns and threat perceptions: An analysis of the key drivers of refugee attitudes in Germany, Migration Studies, 13, More information
Hillenbrand, Tobias, Bruno Martorano, Laura Metzger & Melissa Siegel, 2024, The power of narratives: How framing refugee migration impacts attitudes and political support towards refugees, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2024-007
Hillenbrand, Tobias, Bruno Martorano, Laura Metzger & Melissa Siegel, 2023, How humanitarian are Germans towards refugees?, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-033
