Our scholars have different social science backgrounds – political science, economics and related disciplines – and are experts on the regions of the Global South. Get to know our experts.
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Current Research
Countries and Regions
Democracy and Democratisation in Africa (In-)Formal Political Institutions in Emerging Democracies Political Representation Parliaments in Africa Personalization of Executive Power in Africa Intra/inter-party competition
Sub-Sahara Africa Ghana South Africa
Doctoral Researcher / Representative of Doctoral Researchers
houssein.almalla@giga-hamburg.deCivil-Military Relations in the Middle East and North Africa Military Coups and Civilian Control of Armies Authoritarian Regimes, Authoritarian Institutions Regime Stability and Destabilization Party Systems and Cleavages in the Middle East and North Africa German Military Deployments in the MENA-Region and Sahel
Middle East North Africa Sudan Afghanistan
Large-scale land acquisitions
Africa
Latin America
Asia
International sanctions International organisations (U.N Studies) Authoritarian regimes Quantitative methods
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Regional Explanations for Authoritarianism Statethood and Political Domination in the Middle East (with a focus on Jordan and Syria) The War in Syria Regional Politics and the Relationship between Arabism and Islamism
Jordan Syria Palestine/Israel Turkey (Near East Politics)
Director of the GIGA Institute for African Affairs / Editor GIGA Focus Africa
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-517matthias.basedau@giga-hamburg.deResources conflicts Religion and violent conflict Civil–military relations Political institutions
Sub-Saharan Africa Mali Niger Chad Botswana
International Political Economy Energy Economics
Iran GCC
Legitimacy in global governance Science, experts, and politics Nationalism and ethnicity in China Global IR
China East Asia
Cambodia Kenya
World Order Narratives of the Maghreb’s Leftist Movements States and Authoritarianism North African Politics
Maghreb region
Morocco
Tunisia
Social Protection Systems and Labour Markets
Latin America Mexico Brazil
Geoeconomics (infrastructure-security nexus) Middle East-China Relations China’s Belt and Road Initiative (aka “The New Silk Road”) Cybersecurity (“Digital Silk Road”, China 2025, etc.)
The Middle East (Iran and GCC) East Asia (China)
Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-582christiane.froehlich@giga-hamburg.deEnergy Policy Climate Policy Infrastructure Studies Natural Resources & Resource Conflicts (Neo)Gramscian Approaches and Hegemony Analysis Critical Political Economy
Indonesia / Southeast Asia Brazil / South America
Doctoral Researcher / Representative of Doctoral Researchers
T. +49 (40) 42825-796ardahan.gedikli@giga-hamburg.deThe Political Economy of AKP's Foreign Aid: A Regional Assessment of Middle East and North Africa
Middle East North Africa
Large-scale land investments Rural development Socioeconomic inequalities and institutions
Liberia, Sub-Saharan Africa Indonesia, South-East Asia
Senior Research Fellow / Editor GIGA Focus Global
T. Tel.: +49 (0)40 - 42 88 74-44karsten.giese@giga-hamburg.deChina
China
Asia
The Security Paradox The Security Arena Local Security Studies Restoration of State Authority
Central African Republic Lebanon Somalia/Somaliland
Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-566julia.grauvogel@giga-hamburg.deInternational sanctions Persistence and change of authoritarian regimes Legitimation of authoritarian regimes
Simbabwe Burundi
Latin America
Family economics, social norms and marriage Fertility and religion Political representation, public policies and gender
Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi
Indonesia
Saudi Foreign Policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa Political Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes Political Islam International Relations of the Persian Gulf
Yemen Saudi Arabia Sub-Saharan Africa
Political integration of social groups Electoral behavior Democratic values Social conflicts
Latin America Caribbean Bolivia Guyana Suriname
Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim) Head GIGA Berlin Office
bert.hoffmann@giga-hamburg.deTransnational Migration Politics and Diaspora Policies Executive Board member of the research network desiguALdades.net Cuba's Transformation: Crisis, Continuity and Change in Socialist Cuba
Latin America Cuba
Senior Research Fellow / Editor GIGA Focus Asia
T. +49 (0)40 - 42 88 74-27heike.holbig@giga-hamburg.deThe politics of the People‘s Republic of China Ideology and political legitimation State-society relations in the Chinese reform period Protection of weak groups and interests in China and Japan Comparative research into authoritarianism Asia-related area studies
VR China SVR Hongkong
Kurdish Studies Democratization & Decentralization Security policy in & around Kurdistan Survey data harmonization
Kurdistan
Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-714maria.josua@giga-hamburg.deAuthoritarian Rule in the Middle East and North Africa Authoritarian learning Legitimation of authoritarian regimes Repression of protest movements
Algeria Jordan
Impacts on inter-gender relations in Libya
Libya MENA regions
Cyber-Mediation / Digital Mediation / E-Mediation in international conflicts International conflict resolution Mediation in inter-state and intra-state conflicts Regional patterns and variations of mediation Regional security architecture of the Middle East Peace and conflict research
Middle East
Emerging Powers International Climate Policy
Brazil India China
Religion Social Identities and Social Psychology Moral Foundations Theory Reconciliation Post-Conflict Societies
Africa
Director of the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies / Vice President
T. +49 (0)40 - 42 88 74-17patrick.koellner@giga-hamburg.deThe Indo-Pacific as a New Strategic Space Comparative Area Studies: Analytical and Organisational Issues
Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Island Countries Japan Korean peninsula Indo-Pacific
African Union (AU) AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) Multilateral Diplomacy Regional Security in Africa Legitimation of Regional Organisations
Africa
Doctoral Researcher / Representative of Doctoral Researchers
indi-carolina.kryg@giga-hamburg.deMigration and Refugee Studies Critical Citizenship Studies Border Regimes Political Agency Civil Society Organisations
Latin America Central America Mexico
Economic and social impacts of land-use change and global land acquisitions Smallholder farming systems in developing countries Development and Agricultural Economics
Civil-military relations Democratization Authoritarianism Research methods
Taiwan South Korea
Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim) Editor GIGA Focus Latin America
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-570sabine.kurtenbach@giga-hamburg.dePostwar Societies Violence and Social change Youth
Central America Colombia
Responses to the Belt and Road Initiative Digital networks Weaponized interdependence EU trade policy
EU
China
Africa Uganda
Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Globalisation and Development"
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-763jann.lay@giga-hamburg.deInformal entrepreneurship in developing countries Structural change and its poverty and distributional implications Natural resources, economic development and conflict
Africa
Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-581malte.lierl@giga-hamburg.deExperimental political economics: social preferences, norm-oriented behaviour, and social incentives of political decision makers Political accountability Corruption and abuse of power Civic engagement and voter behaviour Policy innovation and experimentation
Africa
Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim)
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-766mariana.llanos@giga-hamburg.dePolitical institutions in Latin America Presidentialism Latin American congresses Latin American courts President-Congress relations; president-court relations
Latin America Argentina Brazil
Political parties and party systems Elections Local politics Voting behaviour Electoral geography Political trust and democracy
Latin America, particularly Brazil and Argentina
Justice
Security
Community-building
Latin America
Brazil
Indian foreign policy Role of identities in international relations Media and politics
India South Asia
Health and health systems Antimicrobial resistance
Africa
Religion and National Identity Marginalization and Social Inequality Borderlands Transitional Justice Kinship and Ambiguous Loss
Middle East Tunisia
Persian Gulf politics Geopolitics Security in the Persian Gulf Feminist Foreign Policy
Persian Gulf Iran and Saudi Arabia
The Politics of COVID-19 Vaccination in Central America
Latin America
International Trade International Negotiation Multilateralism World Trade Organisation Geoeconomics Economic Statecraft International Negotiation Indian Foreign Policy Rising Powers BRICS, especially India
India Brazil China
Social protection mechanisms in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East during the COVID-19 pandemic Policies on violence against women in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic Policy efforts to eliminate child labor in Latin America
Latin America
Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson
T. +49 (0)40 42 88 74-23johannes.plagemann@giga-hamburg.deMultipolarity, rising powers, and International Politics Legitimacy and International Institutions Populism and Foreign Policy
India South Asia Mozambique
Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Global Orders and Foreign Policies"
T. +49 (0)40 - 42 88 74-30miriam.prys@giga-hamburg.deRegional and emerging powers Global and regional environmental politics Global climate regime
India BRICS
Security Sector Reforms State Repression Violent Democracies Social Protest Discursive Politics
Central America Latin America
Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Accountability and Participation"
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-528thomas.richter@giga-hamburg.deLarge-scale land acquisitions Rural Development Land conflicts Land policy in Colombia
Colombia
Inclusion of smallholder farmers in more modern and high-value markets, and the resulting effects on e.g. household welfare and productivity Socioeconomic- and ecological trade-offs of small- and large-scale producers in Indonesia
Asia
Regional Organisations League of Arab States & African Union Legitimacy and Legitimation Strategies Critical Security Studies WMD Disarmament and non-proliferation.
Middle East North Africa
Legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations Politicization of international institutions Change and Empowerment of International Organiztions
Latin America
Foreign direct investments Training and job creation
Africa
Comparing innovation systems and policies in China, India and Southeast Asia Research Cooperation between Europe and Southeast Asia Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investments High-Skilled Labour Migration: Brain Ciruculation between Asia and Europe China’s Economic Transition
PR China SAR Hong Kong
International Security Securitization Theory Discourse Analysis and Speech Act Theory Collective action and Contentious Politics Political Psychology and Identity
Latin America
Civic activism, social movements, digital activism
Authoritarian civil society and rightwing mobilisation
Civil society space
Digital repression in autocracies
Asia
Global South, in particular Africa
Democratization Civil-Military Relations Political Islam Identity Politics in the Middle East Power and Resistance
Turkey Egypt
Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson
T. +49 (0)40 - 42 88 74-32andreas.ufen@giga-hamburg.deDemocratization in Indonesia and Malaysia Political parties in Southeast Asia Populism in Southeast Asia Civil society in Indonesia and Malaysia
Southeast Asia Indonesia
Political Institutions in Latin America Social Movements
Latin America Brazil
Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Peace and Security"
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-590christian.vonsoest@giga-hamburg.deInternational sanctions and interventions Authoritarian regimes Foreign policy and development policy
Southern Africa and East Africa South Africa Botswana Zambia Zimbabwe Kenya
The politics of the People‘s Republic of China E-government & e-participation Ideology and political legitimation Central-local relations
PR China
Senior Research Fellow / GIGA Representative in Japan
T. +81 (0)3 - 3470-7257 (Tokyo)iris.wieczorek@giga-hamburg.deInnovation processes and networks in Japanese economy, science and society in international comparison
Japan
Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East
T. +49 (0)40 - 428 25-504eckart.woertz@giga-hamburg.deContemporary history of Iraq (1979-2003) Political Economy of the Middle East Energy and food security Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation
Gulf region Iraq Egypt Syria
Ecuadorian Foreign Policy Emerging Powers: China and Brazil International Cooperation South-South Cooperation, Integration and Regionalism in Latin America
Ecuador
Contact
Current Research
Countries and Regions
Associate
Post-conflict transformation and institutional reform
Security sector reform
Peacekeeping
Peacebuilding
Regional dynamics of conflict and violence
Conflict analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa
DR Congo
Togo
Burkina Faso
Associate
International and regional Oil Politics
Arab Spring
Regional Politics and Regional Powers in the Middle East
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Middle East (esp. Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria)
Political parties in India
Regional Powers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Social policies of Indian states
South Asia
India
Sri Lanka
Comparative Regional Democratization
Institutional Design in Divided Societies
South Africa
Peacekeeping in Africa
International organizations and regime complexity
Africa
Associate
Comparative research on democracy and political regimes
Authoritarianism and civil society development in Mozambique
Governance, decentralisation, civil society participation, participatory budgeting
Local government development and local economic development in South Africa and Mozambique
Main regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa
Mozambique
South Africa
Politics in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar
Violence
Decentralization
Thailand
Indonesia
Myanmar
Comparative social policy
Democratic representation
Latin American politics
Latin America
National, regional, and sectoral systems of innovation
Large scientific infrastructures and innovation platforms
Technology transfer
China
State-building in everyday practice
Borders and borderlands
state-society relations in (post-) conflict settings
South Sudan
Central African Republic
Horn of Africa
West Africa
Africa
Conflict analyses
Civilian crisis prevention
Development theory / progress research
Comprehensive measures of societal development levels
The “good live” in the “good Society”
Strategies for fostering sustainable and egalitarian societies
MOTRA-Monitoring System and Transfer Platform Radicalization: Investigating international sources of domestic radicalization of right-, left-, and Islamist extremist groups Radicalization and Terrorism Quantitative Methods
Effects of global land acquisitions on economic development and the environment
Globalising agricultural markets and private governance structures
Globalisation and natural resources
Africa
Regional Powers in the Middle East
Political Islam
Egypt
Iraq
Iran
Arabian Peninsula
Urban Violence and Non State Armed Actors in Latin America
Security and Defence in South America
Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Colombia
Illegal Markets and Violence in Latin America
Latin America
Comparative politics
Latin American politics
Gender and politics
First Lady
Presidencialism
Latin America
Chile
Global Health Governance; Schwerpunkt: WTO/TRIPS und der Zugang zu Medikamenten
Akteure, Koordination und Contestation in Global Governance
Global Environmental/ Climate Governance
Globale Normbildungsnetzwerke
Latin America
Migration Policy of EU Persistence of Authoritarian Regimes Militarisation Diasporas and sanctions Peace and conflict studies
Eritrea Ethiopia Djibouti
East Africa
Tanzania
Conflict and Security
South Asian Politics
Rohingya Crisis
Ethnic Violence
International Relations Theory
Researching Violence
South & Southeast Asia
International sanctions
Religion and conflict
Africa
International and Regional Organisations
African Union in Global Politics
Sociological Institutionalism
Postcolonial Theory
Africa
Energy choices for transport and cooking
Entrepreneurship, formalization and enterprise development
Financial linkages, MFIs sustainability and poverty reduction
Gender and agribusiness
Africa
Revisiting ‘Regions’ in a Changing World Order: The Case of India and the Indo-Pacific
The future of alliances in a changing world order
The rise and resurgence of regional powers in international relations
Status-seeking in world politics
Indo-Pacific
Global South
India
Transnational student mobility
Migration infrastructures
Social media
Indian middle classes
Social mobility
South Asia
Europe
Shrinking civic spaces and covid-19
Authoritarianism and democratic backsliding
Civil and political rights
Business and human rights
Accountability and transparency
International focus
Latin America
Ecuador
Political Anthropology
Civil Society
Transnationalism
Audiovisual Anthropology
West Africa
Security
Intervention norms
Responsibility to protect
Brazil
Africa
Political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa
Power and Norms in Islamist Organizations
Muslim Brotherhood in the MENA-Region and the Gulf
Hezbollah, Hamas
Lebanon
Palestinian Territories
International and regional governmental organizations in comparative perspective
EU in global regionalism
International institutional complexity
Institutional design and evolution
Legitimacy and legitimation
Diffusion theories
Latin America
Salafism in the Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco)
Civil Society in Autocracies
Authoritarianism and Civil Society Development in Algeria
State Failure and Ethnic Conflicts in Southeast Asia (esp. Burma/Myanmar and the Philippines)
Political Change in Burma/Myanmar
Islam und Islamism in Bangladesh und Southeast Asia (esp. Philippines)
Burma/Myanmar
Bangladesch
Philippinen
Maghreb
Associate
Transnational Diffusion of Policing Doctrines (Europe – Maghreb Region)
New Forms of Authoritarian Practices in the MENA region
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Associate
Security Studies
Foreign Policy Analysis
Regionalism
South America, especially Venezuela and Colombia
Petrostates
China’s foreign policy
Authoritarian regimes
Methods for text analysis
China
(Im)mobility in the context of conflict and war
Drivers of (forced) migration
Migration governance
Diaspora politics and transnational political participation
North Africa
Middle East
Europe
Extent, processes and effects of large-scale land acquisitions
Rural development
Agricultural transformations
Zambia
Kenya
Mali
Regional Powers
Political Institutions in Latin America
"Failed presidencies"
Transitional Justice
Argentina
Chile
Mexico
Paraguay
Critical development studies
Comparative area studies
Gender and queer theory
Qualitative methodologies
Central America
Peru
A Cross National Survey of the Reports of International Election Observation Missions in Africa
Policies Tackling Electoral Violence in Africa
Evolution of Political Institutions in Africa
Africa
Nigeria
Migration policies
Diaspora engagement
Political representation
Migration data
Latin America
Comparative migration and citizenship policies in Latin America, Asia and Europe
Representation and participation of migrants across democracies in the world
Diaspora politics and policies
Political transnationalism
North-South relations with regard to migration policies
Mexican politics
Latin America
Mexico
Associate
Behavioral development economics
Employment and entrepreneurship
Informal sector
Common-pool resource management
Microfinance
Nepotism and leadership
Religion and development
Southern Africa
Uganda
Poverty and Inequality
Education and teacher performance pay
Social consequences of disabilities
Discrimination in labor markets
Discrimination in access to schooling
Indonesia
India
Political Islam (in particular Salafism)
Social movements
Gramscian theory
Arab Middle East, in particular the Levant
Environmental and development economics
Poverty reduction and low carbon economic development
Sub-Saharan Africa
Business behavior in contexts of armed conflict and peacebuilding
Relationship between legal resources
Armed conflict and crime
Dynamics of transitional justice and reconciliation
Regional Organisation Legitimacy and Legitimation Strategies Human Rights
Tunisia Lebanon League of Arab States
The link between class and political attitudes
Different approaches to defining the middle class
The labour market as a transmission channel from growth to household welfare outcomes
Ex-ante evaluation of alternative policy and growth scenarios to access their potential for poverty and inequality reduction
Brazil
South Africa
Development of Chinese markets for natural resources, esp. mineral resources
Natural resources production and trade flows in Northeast and Southeast Asia
Electric batteries supply chains in China
China
Fiscal Federalism: Theory and Practice
Distributive Fiscal Politics
Multi-level Politics and Party System Change
Foreign Relations of Subnational Units
Federalism and Disaster Management
India
South Asia
Mass-elite representation gap in old and new democracies, with specific focus on causes, measurement strategies, and normative implications
Comparative welfare states of OECD countries, with special focus on East Asian countries
Gender Politics of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, with special focus on legislative politics
Multi-methods, with special focus on social network analysis and media content analysis
Japan
South Korea
Taiwan
Activities of UN peace operations
UN peacebuilding at the local level
Restrictions against civil society organizations, shrinking civic space
Quantitative methods and quantitative text analysis
Cote d'Ivoire
Associate
China's foreign policy Civil society policies and theory in China Authoritarianism
China East Asia
War-to-peace transitions Ceasefires Political order Local rebel governance Legal systems
Syria
Legitimacy of state and non-state actors Politics and religion (Limited) statehood Local security perceptions Terrorism
Sahel region Nigeria Liberia Libya
Post-conflict transitional governments
Institutional reform in post-conflict societies
Security Sector Reform (SSR)
Quantitative and qualitative methods
Nepal
Comparative Study of Democracy / Regime Research
Political role of constitutional courts
Institutions in processes of democratization
Parties, party systems and elections in Africa
Francophone West Africa, particularly Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo and Rwanda
Political psychology in peace processes Political leadership and decision-making Emotions in Peace and Conflict Studies
Africa (mainly South Africa) Latin America (mainly Colombia)
Political attitudes and behaviour in autocracies
Contentious politics in the Middle East and North Africa
Authoritarian regimes and international cooperation
Empirical research methods
Maghreb
Morocco
Egypt
The role of courts in the political system Judicial legitimacy Courts and the public Judicial independence in new democracies, especially Latin America Development of democracy in Paraguay
Latin America Paraguay
Social and ecological sustainability of cocoa cultivation (Indonesia)
Income Distribution (between Capital and Labor), International Capital Flows and Inequality
Indonesia
Associate
Narratives and local order in counterinsurgency/ceasefires Armed Order-Making in Northeast India Comparing Order and Knowledge across Counterinsurgencies Rebel Ordering and Governance
India Northeast India South Asia
GCC Narratives of World Order
The GCC (Saudi, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates)
Iraq
Jordan
Comparative Democratization: Latin American Politics and Mexican Politics
Researcher in the Europe-Cuba Forum Network
Latin America
Mexico
Civil society action in Southeast Asia
Comparison of authoritarian regimes
Vietnam
Postcolonialism
Peace and Conflict Resolution
Traditional Peacebuilding
Gender-just peacebuilding
Counter-terrorism
South Asia
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Power-sharing
Post-conflict reforms
Civil society
Legitimacy and representation in peace negotiations
Sub-Saharan Africa
Contact
Current Research
Countries and Regions
International Aid Architecture
Official Development Assistance
European Development Policy
• EU–Afghanistan • Germany–Afghanistan • India–Afghanistan