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

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

  • Short CV

    • Since 04/2024: President of the GIGA (ad interim)
    • 08/2023-03/2024: Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim)
    • Since 06/2018: Honorary professorship at the Philipps-University Marburg
    • 06/2018 - 01/2020: Acting Director of the GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies
    • 09/2006 - 10/2008: Senior Researcher DSF-Project "Societal and political Fractures after War: Youth Violence in Cambodia and Guatemala", INEF, University Duisburg-Essen.
    • Since 1993: Senior Researcher of the GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies, research interests: peace and conflict, security policies, youth Regional focus Central America, Andean Region.
    • Since 1992: Independent Consultant (among others for the Foreign Ministry, Minis-try of Development Cooperation, GTZ, Bertelsmann Transformation Index).
    • 1991: PhD in Political Science, University of Hamburg.
    • 1990 - 1992: Researcher at the Research Center on Wars, Armament and Development, University of Hamburg.
    • 1987 - 1990: Researcher at the Institute of Political Science University of Hamburg (Prof. Dr. K.J. Gantzel), Coordination of the Research Group on Cau-ses of War.
    • 1987: Researcher at the Institute for Iberoamerican Studies, Hamburg (July - September)
    • Education: Studies in Political Science, Spanish, Contemporary History in Madrid, Erlangen, Sevilla and Hamburg

    Current Research

    • Postwar Societies

    • Violence and Social change

    • Youth

    Countries and Regions

    • Central America

    • Colombia

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    T. +49 (40) 42825-570[email protected]

    Highlights

    The Entanglements of Peace: Reflections on the long road of transforming the armed conflict in Colombia

    Edited Volume | FESCOL Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Colombia | 08/2021

    The Entanglements of Peace: Reflections on the long road of transforming the armed conflict in Colombia

    The publication of this study, which seeks to analyse and understand the variety of conceptions of peace in Colombia, comes at a key but complex moment. The context of the pandemic has not only had an impact on the health of the Colombian population, but also on the quality of life of households.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    Kristina Birke Daniels

    Friedrich Ebert Foundation Colombia

    Building Pathways to Peace: State–Society Relations and Security Sector Reform

    Elements in International Relations | Cambridge University Press | 11/2023

    Building Pathways to Peace: State–Society Relations and Security Sector Reform

    Local actors should be involved in peacebuilding processes and security sector reforms (SSR). The book presents a feminist and intersectoral conceptualisation of SSR as well as quantitative and qualitative findings from 42 post-conflict societies as well as from Afghanistan and Colombia. Open Access until 11 December 2023!

    Dr. Nadine Ansorg

    Associate

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    How to deal with Non-state Armed Actors

    Infographic | 09/2023

    How to deal with Non-state Armed Actors

    Dealing with NSAAs is complicated and complex shifting between repression and dialogue. NSAAs are highly flexibkle and able to adapt to changing local and global contexts. Policies must be comprehensive and include local communities as well as structural drivers of violence.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    Yannick Deepen

    Former GIGA Team member

    Publications

    EU-LAC Policy Brief | 09/2025

    Drogas, Puertos y Otros Desafíos: La Necesidad de una Estrategia Multinivel Integral y Coordinada

    The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

    Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann

    Alberto Brunori

    Diego Durán Cruz

    Madeleine Palacios

    PhD Martina Lassalle

    EU-LAC Policy Brief | 09/2025

    Drugs, Ports and Other Challenges: In Need of a Comprehensive and Coordinated Multilevel Strategy

    The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

    Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann

    Alberto Brunori

    Diego Durán Cruz

    Madeleine Palacios

    PhD Martina Lassalle

    Infographic | 09/2025

    Demographic (Dis)Continuities in Peace Concepts Within and Across Six Countries

    Explore how answers differ within and across countries. Heatmaps display the distribution of top ranked concepts by region, sex, age, and socioeconomic status. The tool supports side by side comparison, helping identify consistent divides and bridges across groups.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    Eduardo Valencia

    Outreach Administrator

    Infographic | 09/2025

    For You, Peace Is…? Open Responses from Six Countries

    Explore how people across Cameroon, Colombia, the Philippines, South Sudan, Tunisia, and Venezuela describe peace in their own words. The interactive cloud shows terms by frequency and reveals full quotations on hover, making local meanings and shared themes visible at a glance.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    Eduardo Valencia

    Outreach Administrator

    Infographic | 09/2025

    Ranked Concepts of Peace Across Six Countries

    See how respondents ranked fourteen concepts related to peace, from safety to rights and change. Interactive bar charts and rank distributions highlight national profiles and common ground, inviting comparison across the six countries.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    Eduardo Valencia

    Outreach Administrator

    Research Projects

    Research Project | 01/04/2023 - 31/03/2027

    Context Matters – Country-Specific Politico-Economic Analyses, Conflict and Crisis Potentials, as well as Global and Regional Trends / Phase III

    The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the strategic capability of German development cooperation in the context of the BMZ 2030 reform concept are based on in-depth knowledge of country-specific, regional and global developments. The GIGA provides annual information on actors and governance structures as well as on conflict potentials in countries of the Global South. Additionally, important regional and global trends are analysed with a comparative area perspective.
    BMZ, 2023-2027

    Research Project | 01/03/2021 - 31/08/2022

    COVID-19 and the Dynamics of (Post-)War Violence: Lessons from Colombia and Syria

    What are the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of violence during and after civil wars? The project analyses the pandemic-related reconfiguration of social and political orders in a comparative study of Syria and Colombia at subnational levels. In this way, it will provide new knowledge on violence dynamics in two of the most complex conflicts today and be able to suggest crucial lessons for similar (post-)war contexts in other parts of the world.
    Volkswagen Foundation, 2021-2022

    Research Project | 01/01/2021 - 31/03/2024

    Democratizing Security in Turbulent Times

    How is security provided in turbulent times and how does this affect the relationship between democracy and security? The proposed research training group examines fundamental reconfigurations of the relationship between security and democracy against the backdrop of growing political and societal polarisation, the advent of new digital technologies and the rescaling of security to arenas below and beyond the state.
    Landesforschungsförderung Hamburg, 2021-2023

    Research Project | 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2026

    Leibniz Research Network "Environmental Crises - Crisis Environments"

    The Leibniz Research Network "Environmental Crises - Crisis Environments" (Leibniz CrisEn), led by PRIF, bundles and networks the professional and methodological-technical competencies of 15 Leibniz Institutes in the environmental, life, spatial, social and economic sciences. The researchers of the participating institutions record and investigate crisis-like environmental changes and the interactions between the scientific and social phenomena that underlie the attributions or denials of the changes in our environment as crises.
    Leibniz Association, 2021 - 2026

    Media Contributions

    SRF - Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen | Interview | 13/10/2025

    Warum die USA ihre Angriffe auf Venezuela ausweiten

    Obwohl die UNO zur Zurückhaltung mahnt, intensivieren die USA ihre Angriffe auf mutmaßliche Drogenboote vor der Küste Venezuelas - offiziell im Kampf gegen Fentanyl. Doch steckt mehr dahinter? Was die USA mit diesen Angriffen tatsächlich bezwecken, darüber spricht Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach im SRF-Interview.

    Tagesschau24 | Interview | 10/10/2025

    Friedensnobelpreis für María Corina Machado

    Die venezolanische Oppositionsführerin María Corina Machado erhält den Friedensnobelpreis 2025 für ihren Einsatz für Demokratie und Menschenrechte. In einem Interview mit Tagesschau24 erläutert Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach die Entscheidung und deren politische und gesellschaftliche Bedeutung.

    Radio3 / rbb | Interview | 10/10/2025

    Für welche Art von Frieden steht der diesjährige Friedensnobelpreis?

    Die venezolanische Oppositionsführerin María Corina Machado erhält für ihren friedlichen Einsatz für Demokratie und einen gerechten Übergang von der Diktatur zur Rechtsstaatlichkeit den Friedensnobelpreis 2025. Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach spricht über Hintergründe und die mögliche Bedeutung des Preises für Venezuela.

    Lectures

    German Institute for Global and Area Studies | 05/11/2025

    Desafíos de las Drogas y el Crimen Organizado

    Organiser: German Institute for Global and Area Studies Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha (Organiser), Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann (Organiser), Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach (Organiser)

    As a side-event to the 2025 EU-CELAC summit in Colombia, this event brings together European and Latin American academics and stakeholders to discuss the challenges of drug policy and organised crime, which affect both continents.

    Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

    Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Costa Rica Office (KAS) | 10/04/2025

    Current Political Challenges and Prospects in Central America

    Organiser: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Costa Rica Office (KAS), Konrad Adenauer Foundation Désirée Marlen Reder (Consultant), Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach (Consultant)

    In a bilateral exchange with the incoming Konrad Adenauer Foundation regional representative based in Costa Rica, we addressed Central America's geopolitical role, drug trafficking dynamics, continental power struggles, the current situation at the Panama Canal, and upcoming elections in the region.

    Désirée Marlen Reder

    Doctoral Researcher

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    President (ad interim)

    Cooperation Event | 07/04/2025 - 08/04/2025

    Experts Workshop Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking

    Experts Workshop Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking, Hamburg International Maritime Museum, Hamburg Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), EU-LAC Foundation Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach (Organiser), Julia Kramer (Organiser), Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann (Organiser), Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha (Organiser), PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez (Organiser), Eduardo Valencia (Organiser)

    Experts from diverse fields gather to explore the challenges of illicit drug trafficking from Latin America to Europe and beyond. Focusing on ports as key hubs, they examine underlying dynamics and emerging trends, available data and common misconceptions, community impacts and civil society’s role.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Julia Kramer

    Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann

    Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

    PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez

    Eduardo Valencia

    Teaching

    Teaching | Philipps-Universität Marburg (UMR) | 2020

    Lateinamerika brennt

    Philipps-Universität Marburg (UMR) Marburg Germany

    Mittelseminar Friedens- und Konfliktforschung FB 03

    Teaching | University of Hamburg (UHH) | 2015

    Violence and Inequality in Latin America

    University of Hamburg (UHH) Hamburg Germany

    Teaching | University of Hamburg (UHH) | 2011

    Youth and Violence

    University of Hamburg (UHH) Hamburg Germany

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