Professor Kristina Stoeckl is a prominent sociologist specializing in religion and politics, currently a Professor of Sociology at LUISS University in Rome and formerly at the University of Innsbruck. She holds a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute in Florence . Her early studies include Comparative Literature and Russian at the University of Innsbruck and International Relations at Central European University in Budapest . She has authored The Russian Orthodox Church and Human Rights (2014) and co-authored Moralist International: Russia in the Global Culture Wars (2022)  . Her work addresses how religious institutions engage in global politics, with a particular focus on the Russian Orthodox Church.