British-German academic
Marius Sebastian Ostrowski FRHistS FRSA German: [ˈmaːʁɪʊs zɛˈbastɪan ɔsˈtʁɔvskiː] ; born 12 December 1988) is aGerman-British political andsocial theorist ,historian of ideas , and policy researcher. His research interests lie in the comparative and historical study of ideas andideologies , focusing on how social contexts shape patterns of ordinary thinking and everyday behaviour. He also writes on national strategy, the theory and history ofsocial democracy , and progressive visions ofEuropean integration .
Ostrowski was born inFrankfurt am Main ,West Germany ,[ 1] Sighișoara andPoznań . After living inGarmisch-Partenkirchen andKaiserslautern , Ostrowski immigrated to the United Kingdom in 1994, settling inSurrey . He first attendedNower Lodge School ,Dorking (now defunct), then moved in 1997 toColet Court (now St Paul's Junior School). In 2002, Ostrowski became aKing's Scholar and Music Scholar atEton College , where he achieved 10A-levels , includingClassical Greek , history, linguistics, mathematics, and music.[ 2] [ 3]
From 2007 to 2010, Ostrowski studiedphilosophy, politics, and economics at theUniversity of Oxford , winning a Demy-fellowship and music scholarship atMagdalen College , and graduating with aFirst . He continued his studies with anM.Phil inpolitical theory (2010–12), and aD.Phil. inpolitics (2012–17), under the supervision ofMichael Freeden . His doctoral thesis offered a framework to understand the mid–2010s crisis in theopinion polling industry , drawing on thehistory of ideas ,opinion research ,political science ,social psychology , andsociological theory . In 2013, Ostrowski won election to an Examination Fellowship in politics atAll Souls College .[ 4] [ 5]
While completing his D.Phil., Ostrowski taught politics atChrist Church andMagdalen College, Oxford , and theNew College of the Humanities (now Northeastern University London).[ 6] Eduard Bernstein ,[ 7] [ 8] [ 9] Left Unity (2020),[ 10] progressive forces in society.[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
In 2020, he became a Max Weber Fellow at theRobert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies ,European University Institute (EUI) inFlorence , pursuing a project on the ideological prehistory of theEuropean Union , especially neglectedEuropeanist ideas ininterwar progressive thought.[ 14] [ 15] [ 16] Ideology (2022), which develops a distinctive approach to ideology theory, building on the morphological approach ofMichael Freeden .[ 17]
In 2022, Ostrowski was appointed the founding director of the Lifelong Education Institute (LEI),[ 18] lifelong learning , integrated tertiary education, and thepolitical economy of skills. At the same time, he succeededMichael Freeden and Mathew Humphrey as Editor-in-Chief of theJournal of Political Ideologies University of Nottingham .[ 19]
With the support of theFoundation for European Progressive Studies , he embarked on a multi-year project investigating the prospects for a EuropeanUniversal basic income ,[ 20] [ 21] [ 22] A Radical Bargain for Europe (2024).[ 23] ESRC Policy Fellow and Researcher at theBlavatnik School of Government .[ 24]
Ostrowski began to learn piano at the age of 3, followed soon after by the clarinet, organ, andmusic composition , studying withRuth Nye ,Stephen Goss , andJames Weeks . He remains an active pianist and composer, writing above all for keyboard.[ 25] COVID-19 pandemic , he recorded the entirety ofJ.S. Bach ’sGoldberg Variations The Piano Diaries .
Selected compositions [ edit ] Processional March (2012) for organ, to celebrate the wedding of two friends inMagdalen College, Oxford .Fugue in E (2019) for piano.Reverie (2020) for piano.Concert Fantasia on Bella Ciao (2020) for piano, to mark the 75th anniversary ofVictory in Europe Day .Suite-sonata degli ostinati (2020) in four movements for piano, as a gift at the end of his fellowship atAll Souls College, Oxford .Hochzeitsstück (2022) for harmonium/piano, to celebrate the wedding of two friends inBad Gastein , Austria.Saraswati stotramIn 2021, Ostrowski was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Historical Society and a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Arts , United Kingdom.[ 26] Poland .[ 27]
Eduard Bernstein on Social Democracy and International Politics: Essays and Other Writings (Palgrave Macmillan , 2018)[ 7] Eduard Bernstein on the German Revolution: Selected Historical Writings (Palgrave Macmillan , 2019)[ 8] Eduard Bernstein on Socialism Past and Present: Essays and Lectures on Ideology (Palgrave Macmillan , 2021)[ 9] ‘How (Not) to Form a Progressive Alliance: Lessons from the History of Left Cooperation’ ,The Political Quarterly [ 28] ‘Social Democracy and “positive” foreign policy: the evolution of Eduard Bernstein’s international thought, 1914–1920’ ,History of Political Thought [ 29] ‘Ideology studies and comparative political thought’ ,Journal of Political Ideologies [ 30] ‘"Reform or revolution", redux: Eduard Bernstein on the 1918–19 German Revolution’ ,Historical Research [ 31] (with Dominic Afscharian, Viktoriia Muliavka, and Lukáš Siegel)‘The state of the UBI debate: Mapping the arguments for and against UBI’ ,Basic Income Studies 17 (2022).[ 20] ‘From “noble patriotism” to the “republic of peoples”: Eduard Bernstein and the “national question” in Social Democracy’ ,History of Political Thought [ 32] (with Dominic Afscharian, Viktoriia Muliavka, and Lukáš Siegel)‘Into the unknown: Empirical UBI trials as Social Europe’s risk insurance’ ,European Journal of Social Security 24(3) (2022).[ 21] ‘The ideological morphology of left–centre–right’ ,Journal of Political Ideologies [ 33] ‘Europeanism: A historical view’ ,Contemporary European History [ 16] ‘Ideology and the individual’ ,Journal of Political Ideologies [ 34] 'The apotheosis of conceptual morphology' ,Journal of Political Ideologies [ 35] Selected policy reports [ edit ] (with Dominic Afscharian, Viktoriia Muliavka, and Lukáš Siegel)The European Basic Income: Delivering on Social Europe (Foundation for European Progressive Studies, 2021)[ 22] (with Dominic Afscharian)Building Resilient Democracies: Challenges and Solutions across the Globe (Foundation for European Progressive Studies, 2022)[ 36] Hungry to learn: Lifelong Learning Pathways for the agri-food sector (Lifelong Education Institute, 2023)[ 37] Making skills work: The path to solving the productivity crisis (City & Guilds and Lifelong Education Institute, 2024)[ 38] Mapping the course: Education partnerships for continuous skills development (Lifelong Education Institute, 2025)[ 39] UK national strategy in historical perspective: Turning points and ideological developments, 1850–2025 (Blavatnik School of Government , 2025)[ 40] National capacities: A model for national strategy (Blavatnik School of Government , 2025)[ 41] ^ "Marius Ostrowski" .georginacapel.com . Retrieved2024-10-05 .^ Griffiths, Sian (2007-08-19)."Ten As at A level? That will be a pass, then" .The Times . Retrieved2024-10-04 . ^ Editor, Alexandra Frean, Education (2007-08-25)."Eton goes back to the top of the class with record A level results" .The Times . Retrieved2024-10-05 . {{cite web }}:|last= has generic name (help )CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link ) ^ "Examination Fellowship Election | All Souls College" .www.asc.ox.ac.uk . Retrieved2024-10-06 .^ "Dr Marius Ostrowski | All Souls College" .www.asc.ox.ac.uk . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^ "About" .Marius S. Ostrowski . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^a b Ostrowski, Marius S. (2018).Eduard Bernstein on Social Democracy and International Politics doi :10.1007/978-3-319-70781-5 .ISBN 978-3-319-70780-8 ^a b Ostrowski, Marius S. (2020).Eduard Bernstein on the German Revolution: Selected Historical Writings doi :10.1007/978-3-030-27719-2 .ISBN 978-3-030-27718-5 ^a b Ostrowski, Marius S. (2021).Eduard Bernstein on Socialism Past and Present: Essays and Lectures on Ideology doi :10.1007/978-3-030-50484-7 .ISBN 978-3-030-50483-0 ^a b Ostrowski, Marius S. (2020).Left unity: manifesto for a progressive alliance . Lanham: Policy Network / Rowman & Littlefield International.ISBN 978-1-78661-295-3 ^ Ostrowski, Marius (2021-02-16)."Left Unity" .Progressive Britain . Retrieved2024-10-05 . ^ admin (2020-03-05)."What are the values of the left?" .Justice Everywhere . Retrieved2024-10-05 . ^ Niker, Fay (2020-04-23)."Left Unity: An Interview with Marius Ostrowski" .Justice Everywhere . Retrieved2024-10-05 . ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2019-01-01)."Social democracy and the 'Europe question': Lessons from Weimar?" .Renewal . ^ "Ostrowski, Marius" .www.eui.eu . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^a b Ostrowski, Marius S. (May 2023)."Europeanism: A Historical View" .Contemporary European History .32 (2):287– 304.doi :10.1017/S0960777321000485 .hdl :1814/74029 ISSN 0960-7773 . ^a b Ostrowski, Marius S. J. (2022).Ideology ISBN 978-1-5095-4072-3 OCLC 1263663019 . ^ respublicauk (2023-03-03)."Lifelong Education Institute" .LEI . Retrieved2024-10-05 . ^ "Centre Members – The University of Nottingham" .www.nottingham.ac.uk . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^a b Afscharian, Dominic; Muliavka, Viktoriia; Ostrowski, Marius S.; Siegel, Lukáš (2022-09-22)."The State of the UBI Debate: Mapping the Arguments for and against UBI" Basic Income Studies .17 (2):213– 237.doi :10.1515/bis-2021-0030 .ISSN 1932-0183 . ^a b Afscharian, Dominic; Muliavka, Viktoriia; Ostrowski, Marius S.; Siegel, Lukáš (September 2022)."Into the unknown: Empirical UBI trials as social Europe's risk insurance" European Journal of Social Security .24 (3):257– 275.doi :10.1177/13882627221118103 .ISSN 1388-2627 . ^a b "The European Basic Income – Delivering on Social Europe" .Foundation for European Progressive Studies . Retrieved2024-10-05 .^a b Afscharian, Dominic; Muliavka, Viktoriia; Ostrowski, Marius S.; Siegel, Lukáš (2024).A radical bargain for Europe: progressive visions of a European basic income . Lanham Boulder New York London: Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN 978-1-5381-6792-2 ^ "Marius S Ostrowski | Blavatnik School of Government" .www.bsg.ox.ac.uk . Retrieved2024-10-14 .^ "Music" .Marius S. Ostrowski . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^ "Alexander Lee and Marius Ostrowski made Fellows of the Royal Historical Society" .georginacapel.com . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^ "Chambers of the Academy" .Akademia Kopernikańska . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (January 2021)."How (Not) to Form a Progressive Alliance: Lessons from the History of Left Cooperation" The Political Quarterly .92 (1):23– 31.doi :10.1111/1467-923X.12939 .ISSN 0032-3179 . ^ Ostrowski, M.S. (2021-01-01)."SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND 'POSITIVE' FOREIGN POLICY: THE EVOLUTION OF EDUARD BERNSTEIN'S INTERNATIONAL THOUGHT, 1914–1920" .History of Political Thought .42 (3):520– 564. ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2022-01-02)."Ideology studies and comparative political thought" Journal of Political Ideologies .27 (1):1– 10.doi :10.1080/13569317.2021.2020994 .ISSN 1356-9317 . ^ Ostrowski, Marius S (2022-05-12)." Historical Research .95 (268):213– 239.doi :10.1093/hisres/htab043 .ISSN 0950-3471 . ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2022-08-08)."From 'Noble Patriotism' to The 'Republic of Peoples': Eduard Bernstein and the 'National Question' In Social Democracy" .History of Political Thought .43 (3):517– 554. ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2023-01-02)."The ideological morphology of left–centre–right" .Journal of Political Ideologies .28 (1):1– 15.doi :10.1080/13569317.2022.2163770 .ISSN 1356-9317 . ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2024-01-02)."Editorial: ideology and the individual" .Journal of Political Ideologies .29 (1):1– 25.doi :10.1080/13569317.2024.2300213 .ISSN 1356-9317 . ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2025-01-20)."The apotheosis of conceptual morphology" Journal of Political Ideologies :1– 31.doi :10.1080/13569317.2025.2445391 .ISSN 1356-9317 . ^ "Building resilient democracies" .Foundation for European Progressive Studies . Retrieved2024-10-05 .^ "Hungry to Learn: Lifelong Learning Pathways for the Agri-food Sector" .LEI . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^ "Productivity Report champions skills as key to unlock UK growth – News" .City & Guilds . Retrieved2024-10-04 .^ "Mapping the Course: Education Partnerships for Continuous Skills Development" .LEI . Retrieved2025-11-02 .^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2025-10-10)."UK National Strategy in Historical Perspective" .Heywood Fellowship .Blavatnik School of Government . ^ Ostrowski, Marius S. (2025-10-10)."National Capacities – A Model for National Strategy" .Heywood Fellowship .Blavatnik School of Government . 
