Sociological Methods and Research | 2024

Do Quantitative and Qualitative Research Reflect Two Distinct Cultures? An Empirical Analysis of 180 Articles Suggests “No”

Based on the empirical evaluation of a stratified random sample of 180 publications, Kuehn and Rohlfing cast doubt on the popular hypothesis that the application of quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences constitute different and internally consistent methods “cultures”.

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

Prof. Dr. Ingo Rohlfing

Universität Passau

Startseite
Das GIGA
Team GIGA
Dr. David Kuehn

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow | Coordinator GIGA Forum

Kurzer Lebenslauf

04/2018 - 06/2019: Sprecher des Forschungsteams "Authoritarian Politics" im FSP 1
Seit 01/2018: Senior Research Fellow, GIGA Institut für Asien-Studien
2015 - 2017: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter and Principal Investigator, Universität Heidelberg, Forschungsprojekt “Dictators’ Endgames: Theory and Empirical Analysis of Military Behavior in Authoritarian Regime Crises, 1946-2014” (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
06/2015 - 09/2015: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Politische Wissenschaft
03/2013 - 05/2015: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Universität Heidelberg, Forschungsprojekt “Democratic Transformation and Civilian Control of the Military: A Configurative Comparison of New Democracies (1974-2010)” (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
12/2012 - 02/2013: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Politische Wissenschaft
11/2008 - 11/2012: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Universität Heidelberg, Forschungsprojekt “Democratization and Civilian Control of the Military in East Asia” (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
04/2008 - 10/ 2008: Dissertationsstipendium (Landesgraduiertenförderung Baden-Württemberg)
10/2006 - 03/2008: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Politische Wissenschaft
Studium: Politische Wissenschaft und Moderne Sinologie (Magister Artium) an der Universität Heidelberg, der Chinese Culture University und der Chinese National Normal University Taipei (Taiwan); Dissertation “Institutionalizing Civilian Control of the Military in New Democracies” an der Universität Heidelberg
Ausführlicher Lebenslauf

Aktuelle Forschung

Civil-military relations
Democratization
Authoritarianism
Research methods

Länder und Regionen

Taiwan
Südkorea

Forschungsschwerpunkte

Mitgliedschaften

Democratization, Editor in charge of book review section, seit 2013
European Research Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS), Co-ordinator of Working Group "Civilian Control of the Military", 2009 - 2019

Auszeichnungen

The Giuseppe Caforio ERGOMAS Award for the Best Book: "Routes to Reform: Civil-Military Relations and Democracy in the Third Wave"., European Research Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS), 2024
Best C&M Working Paper Award 2011, Committee on Concepts and Methods, International Political Science Association (C&M), 2011

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

[email protected]

Oxford Studies in Democratization | Oxford University Press | 03.2023

Routes to Reform: Civil-Military Relations and Democracy in the Third Wave

This book examines the conditions under which new democracies succeed or fail in establishing firm and lasting civilian control of the military.

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Ehemals Associate

Democratization | 03.2026

The Personalization of Political Power Revisited

How does political power become personalized? This special issue examines the gradual concentration of authority in chief executives across regime types, the mechanisms that weaken checks and collective decision-making, and why it matters for institutions, policymaking, and political accountability.

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Democratization | 09.2025

Personnel Management, Institutional Engineering, and Coercion: Mechanisms of the Personalization of Executive Power

How do chief executives personalize power? In this paper we conceptualize the personalization of executive power based on observable processes initiated by the chief executive looking at personnel management, institutional engineering, and coercion.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Dr. David Kuehn

Dr. Martin Acheampong

Emilia Arellano

Dr. Esther Song

GIGA Focus Asien | 3/2025

The 2024 Self-Coup in South Korea: Democracy Challenged and Saved

Südkoreas Selbstputschversuch im Jahr 2024 markierte die schwerste demokratische Krise seit Jahrzehnten. Der kurzzeitige Ausnahmezustand legte tiefe Risse in der zivil-militärischen Kontrolle offen und zeigte zugleich die bemerkenswerte Resilienz demokratischer Institutionen.

Kyunghyun Ro

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Dr. David Kuehn

Infografik | 04.2025

COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region: A Dashboard

This dashboard examines how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced executive personalization in 32 countries. Each bubble represents a country and its number of personalization events. Select one or two, then use the buttons to explore the events and their underlying mechanisms.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Dr. Martin Acheampong

Emilia Arellano

Eduardo Valencia

Beitrag | 2025

Rezension von Marcel Dirsus (2025): Wie Diktatoren stürzen und wie Demokraten siegen können. Köln: Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch

Was hält Diktatoren an der Macht und was – oder besser gesagt wer – kann sie zu Fall bringen? Marcel Dirsus zeigt anschaulich, dass Autokraten auf die Loyalität ihrer Eliten angewiesen sind und dass Bedrohungen von außen, wie Proteste oder Sanktionen, nur unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen wirken.

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

Forschungsprojekt | 01.09.2025 - 31.08.2028

Militaries and Democratic Backsliding Since the End of the Cold War

Since the Cold War's end, militaries have played varied roles in democratic backsliding - from leading coups to supporting or resisting autocratic moves. This project systematically explores how armed forces shape the erosion, collapse, or defense of democracy worldwide.
DFG, 2025-2028

Forschungsprojekt | 15.01.2022 - 31.07.2026

COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, political leaders reacted by containment measures that, next to combating the spread of the pandemic, also presented a window of opportunity to bolster executives’ personal grasp on power. Personalization of power has been particularly worrying in the Global South where constraints on the chief executives were often already weak prior to the pandemic. This project assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the personalization of executive power in 36 countries of the Global South.
DFG, 2021-2026

Forschungsprojekt | 01.03.2021 - 31.08.2022

(Un-)healthy Civil-Military Relations? Militarization of State Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin America and Asia-Pacific

A number of governments in Latin America and Asia-Pacific have given their militaries wide-ranging responsibilities to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. While the militarization of politics and public life partly precedes the pandemic, COVID-19 acts as a major stress test. States have mobilized the military to support civilian health systems and administrative agencies, and to uphold public order. This project examines the role the military plays in the COVID-19 pandemic response in 36 countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Volkswagen Foundation, 2021-2022

Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung | Interview | 16.07.2025

„Chinas Armee möchte bis 2027 bereit für eine Invasion sein“

Im Gespräch mit der Deutschen Verkehrs-Zeitung-Gespräch ordnet GIGA-Experte Dr. David Kuehn die aktuellen Entwicklungen im Taiwan-Konflikt ein.

Wirtschaftswoche | Zitat | 03.04.2025

Militärübung vor Taiwan: „China bereitet sich auf die Invasion vor“

Chinas Militär demonstriert Stärke vor Taiwans Küste. Die Botschaft geht auch an Washington. Droht Taiwan zur Verhandlungsmasse zu werden? GIGA-Experte David Kuehn wirft einen Blick auf Pekings Strategie in der Taiwan-Straße.

GEO | Interview | 21.02.2025

Der Code der Staatsstreiche: Wann Putsche erfolgreich sind – und wann sie scheitern

Warum gelingen manche Staatsstreiche, während andere scheitern? Im Interview erklärt Experte Dr. David Kuehn die Mechanismen hinter erfolgreichen und gescheiterten Putschen, beleuchtet historische Beispiele und gibt Einblicke in aktuelle Entwicklungen.

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | 06.11.2025

Roundtable on Advancing Comparative Area Studies

Organisation: German Institute for Global and Area Studies Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner (Organisator:in, Panelbeitragende:r), Prof. Dr. Rudra Sil (Panelbeitragende:r), Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau (Panelbeitragende:r), Dr. David Kuehn (Panelbeitragende:r), Prof. Dr. Miriam Prys-Hansen (Moderator:in), Eileen Doherty-Sil (Panelbeitragende:r)

Coming together for a roundtable, several contributors to "Advancing Comparative Studies: Analytical Heterogeneity and Organizational Challenges" (Oxford University Press 2025) launch the volume at the GIGA. They address the approach’s development in the past ten years and the content of the new book.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner

Prof. Dr. Rudra Sil

Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Miriam Prys-Hansen

Eileen Doherty-Sil

Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) | 09.10.2025

From Personalization to Autocratization? Executive Power Dynamics Across Political Regimes

Organisation: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Vortragende:r), Dr. David Kuehn (Vortragende:r), Dr. Martin Acheampong (Vortragende:r), Emilia Arellano (Vortragende:r)

Mariana Llanos and Thomas Richter presented results from the DFG-funded project "COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region" at the 1st Annual Interdisciplinary WZB Conference.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Dr. David Kuehn

Dr. Martin Acheampong

Emilia Arellano

Konferenz | 11.09.2025 - 14.09.2025

From Personalization to Autocratization? Executive Power Dynamics Across Political Regimes

APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver Organisation: American Political Science Association Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Vortragende:r), Dr. David Kuehn (Vortragende:r), Dr. Martin Acheampong (Vortragende:r), Emilia Arellano (Vortragende:r)

Thomas Richter presented results from the DFG-funded project "COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region" at the APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Vancouver.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Dr. David Kuehn

Dr. Martin Acheampong

Emilia Arellano

Lehre | Universität Heidelberg | 2020

Spieltheoretische Modelle in der Vergleichenenden Politikwissenschaft

Universität Heidelberg Heidelberg Deutschland

Lehre | GIGA Institut für Asien-Studien | Politische Verantwortlichkeit und Partizipation | GIGA Doktorandenprogramm | 2019

An Introduction to the Logic and Practice of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

GIGA Doktorandenprogramm

Lehre | Swiss Military Academy, ETH Zurich (MILAC) | 2019