German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

DEEN

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow | Coordinator GIGA Forum

Dr. David Kuehn

  • Short CV

    • 04/2018 - 06/2019: Speaker of Research Team "Authoritarian Politics", Research Programme 1

    • Since 01/2018: Senior Research Fellow, GIGA Institute for Asian Studies

    • 2015 - 2017: Senior Research Fellow and Principal Investigator, Heidelberg University, Research project “Dictators’ Endgames: Theory and Empirical Analysis of Military Behavior in Authoritarian Regime Crises, 1946-2014”, funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)

    • 06/2015 - 09/2015: Senior Research Fellow, Heidelberg University, Institute of Political Science

    • 03/2013 - 05/2015: Senior Research Fellow, Heidelberg University, Project on “Democratic Transformation and Civilian Control of the Military: A Configurative Comparison of New Democracies (1974-2010)” funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)

    • 12/2012 - 02/2013: Research Fellow, Heidelberg University, Institute of Political Science

    • 11/2008 - 11/2012: Research Fellow, Heidelberg University, Project on “Democratization and Civilian Control of the Military in East Asia” funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)

    • 04/2008 - 10/ 2008: PhD Scholarship, Baden-Württemberg Graduate Foundation (Landesgraduiertenförderung, LGFG)

    • 10/2006 - 03/2008: Lecturer, Institute of Political Science, Heidelberg University

    • Education: MA in Political Science and Modern Chinese Studies, Heidelberg University (Germany), Chinese Culture University and Chinese National Normal University Taipei (Taiwan); Dissertation “Institutionalizing Civilian Control of the Military in New Democracies” at Heidelberg University, Germany

       

    • Extended Curriculum Vitae

    Current Research

    • Civil-military relations

    • Democratization

    • Authoritarianism

    • Research methods

    Countries and Regions

    • Taiwan

    • South Korea

    Memberships

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

    Awards

    • 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

    T. +49 (40) 428874-33[email protected]

    Highlights

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

    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

    Former Associate

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

    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

    University of Passau

    Mobilizing Force: Linking Security Threats, Militarization, and Civilian Control in Democracies

    Edited Volume | Lynne Rienner Publishers | 05/2021

    Mobilizing Force: Linking Security Threats, Militarization, and Civilian Control in Democracies

    The authors of Mobilizing Force draw on case studies from around the world to systematically examine critical questions of the use of military force by democratic goverments, exploring the interrelationships among security threats, the militarization of security policy, and democratic accountability.

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    Prof. Dr. Yagil Levy

    The Open University of Israel, Ra’anana

    Publications

    GIGA Focus Asia | 3/2025

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

    South Korea’s 2024 self-coup attempt marked its gravest democratic crisis in decades. The brief imposition of martial law exposed deep flaws in civil–military relations and elite polarisation – yet also revealed the surprising resilience of Korea’s democratic institutions.

    Kyunghyun Ro

    Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Infographic | 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

    GIGA Focus Asia | 4/2024

    Taiwan’s New President: Priorities and Challenges

    Taiwan’s newly inaugurated President William Lai has pledged to steer a steady course in domestic, cross-Strait, and foreign policy. This GIGA Focus Asia assesses the challenges he will face between navigating a divided government, acute pressure from China, as well as a global landscape in flux.

    Adhiraaj Anand

    Mahima Duggal

    Dr. David Kuehn

    GIGA Focus Asia | 2/2024

    Remilitarisation in Asia: Trends and Implications

    In recent years, many Asian countries have experienced a remilitarisation of state and society. This GIGA Focus traces the military’s increasing influence over politics, society, and the economy in the region, and highlights its adverse effects for democracy, development, and regional stability.

    Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Dr. Markus Bayer

    Nikitas Scheeder

    GIGA Working Papers | 01/2024

    Personnel, Institutions, and Power: Revisiting the Concept of Executive Personalisation

    Evidence shows a growing trend of chief executives personalising power in autocracies and democracies. Yet, scholarly focus remains siloed according to regime type. This Working Paper presents an overarching framework on the “Personalisation of Executive Power,” identifying the involved mechanisms.

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Dr. Esther Song

    Emilia Arellano

    Research Projects

    Research Project | 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

    Research Project | 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

    Research Project | 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

    Research Project | 01/10/2015 - 01/05/2019

    The Dictator's Endgame: Theory and Empirical Analysis of Military Behavior in Authoritarian Regime Crises, 1946 - 2014

    The military determines the outcomes of peaceful mass protests in dictatorships. The project explains the outcome of authoritarian regime crises as the result of the strategic behavior of the military leadership who will repress the protests, side with the protesters, or stage a coup depending on which option maximizes their benefits. The argument is tested empirically on an original quantitative dataset on all mass protests dictatorships worldwide between 1946 and 2014.
    DFG, 2015-2019

    Media Contributions

    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 | Quote | 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 gelingen – 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.

    Lectures

    German Institute for Global and Area Studies | 06/11/2025

    Roundtable on Advancing Comparative Area Studies

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

    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

    Dr. Eileen Doherty-Sil

    Conference | 12/08/2024 - 15/08/2024

    Executive Personalization and Constraints Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

    ECPR General Conference 2024, University College Dublin, Dublin Dr. Martin Acheampong (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Speaker), Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

    GIGA researchers Dr. Martin Acheampong, Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos, Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter, Dr. David Kuehn, and Emilia Arellano present their paper "Executive Personalization and Constraints Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic" at the ECPR General Conference 2025. The presentation is part of the panel "Presidential Leadership in Crisis: Comparative Institutional Approaches to Defense and Security Threats and Policies, Geopolitical Challenges, and Strategic Competition".

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Emilia Arellano

    Leibniz Association | 03/06/2025

    Leibniz - Book a Scientist 2025

    Organiser: Leibniz Association Dr. David Kuehn (Consultant)

    Demokratie in der Krise? Warum autoritäre Regime weltweit an Boden gewinnen

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    Teaching

    Teaching | Heidelberg University | 2020

    Game-theoretic Models in Comparative Politics

    Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany

    Teaching | GIGA Institute for Asian Studies | Accountability and Participation | GIGA Doctoral Programme | 2019

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

    GIGA Doctoral Programme

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

    Democratic Control of the Military

    Swiss Military Academy, ETH Zurich (MILAC) Zurich Switzerland

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