Nikolas Karanikolas
Doctoral Researcher
Short CV
- Since 09/2025: Lecturer at Karlshochschule – International University
- Since 10/2025: PhD Researcher at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the University of Hamburg
- 11/2024 – 04/2025: Visiting Researcher at the University of Bristol (Exposé Scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes)
- 03/2024 – 06/2024: Research Assistant to Prof. Pia Raffler (Harvard University)
- 01/2022 – 06/2022: Public Sector Consultant at BSL Management Consultancy
- Education: MSc in Development Studies (LSE, fully funded); BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (Karlshochschule), including study-abroad terms at the University of Oxford and MGIMO
- Selected Internships: World Food Programme (06/2022–08/2022); German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) (03/2022–05/2022); International Institute at MGIMO (09/2021–01/2022); Office of MP Leni Breymaier, German Bundestag (06/2018–08/2018)
Current Research
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Democratisation (especially Sub-Saharan Africa)
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Historical Institutionalism (especially Michael Mann)
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Cold War Studies
Countries and Regions
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- DRC
- Kenya
- Ghana
- Benin
Research Programmes
Dissertation
- Why Not Just Democratise? From Democratic Liberties to Violent Conflict: Revisiting Social Power in the Diverse Trajectories of Sub-Saharan Africa Post-1990