Researcher · PhD Student · Author

Pau Torres

PhD Researcher in Political Science · Universitat Pompeu Fabra

About me

I am a predoctoral researcher at Universitat Pompeu Fabra working on territorial identities, nationalism, and secessionism. My research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how education, literacy, and generational change shape political identities in stateless nations.

I have presented my work at international conferences and published in journals such as Territory, Politics, and Governance and South European Politics and Society. I have also been a visiting researcher at Georgetown University.
  • 2024–2025Visiting Researcher, Georgetown UniversityResearch stay
  • 2022–presentPhD Student, Universitat Pompeu FabraPolitical Science
  • 2021Postgraduate, Universitat de BarcelonaData Analysis for Social Science
  • 2019–2020Master's, Universidad Autónoma de MadridDemocracy and Government
  • 2018Erasmus, Università di Torino
  • 2015–2019Degree, Universitat de BarcelonaPolitical Science

Publications

"Literacy and the Spread of Stateless Nationalisms"
Pau Torres
Under review
"Teaching the Region: How Decentralized Education Shapes Territorial Identity in Spain"
Pau Torres
Forthcoming
"Claiming the Isle? Islandness and Territorial Demands"
Pau Torres & Marc Sanjaume-Calvet
→ View article
Published
"Failed Secession, Strategic Renewal: Lessons from the Catalan Nationalist Right (1974–2024)"
Alvariño, Soler-Buades & Pau Torres · Territory, Politics, and Governance · 2026
Published
"A case of top-down intergovernmentalism? The Spanish bilateral cooperation commissions"
Marc Sanjaume et al. · South European Politics and Society · 2025
Published
"The (re)emergence of Catalan secessionism through the generational lens"
Pau Torres & Marc Sanjaume-Calvet · In: Gagnon & Turgeon (eds.), Generations and Nationalism, Routledge · 2025
Published
"Sleeping Dogs: Quebec and the Stabilization of Canadian Federalism after 1995"
Pau Torres · Regional & Federal Studies · 2024
Published

Teaching

Research Interests

Territorial Identities

Studying how territorial and national identities form and evolve, with a focus on stateless nations in Spain and Europe.

Ongoing

Secessionism & Nationalism

Examining the causes and dynamics of secessionist movements, generational change, and elite strategies in Catalonia and beyond.

Ongoing

Education & Political Identity

Exploring how decentralized education systems and literacy shape political identities and nationalist mobilisation.

Ongoing

Contact

Feel free to get in touch for academic collaborations, conference inquiries, or any questions about my research.

Writing

Personal essays, observations and ideas — separate from my academic work.