Kristóf Szombati is a political sociologist whose work focuses on the political economy of illiberalism, social inequalities, and right-wing politics in Central and Eastern Europe. He is particularly interested in how class, ethnicity, and territory intersect in the shaping of contemporary political ideologies and movements. Before entering academia, he co-founded Hungary’s green LMP party, which he left in 2011 to pursue doctoral studies at Central European University (CEU), where he researched the rise of anti-Gypsyism and right-wing mobilization.

After completing his Ph.D. at CEU in 2016, Dr. Szombati held academic and research positions including the István Deák Visiting Assistant Professorship at Columbia University and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle. His publications include several scholarly articles and the monograph The Revolt of the Provinces: Anti-Gypsyism and Right-Wing Politics in Hungary (Berghahn, 2018).