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, Co-ordinator of Working Group "Civilian Control of the Military", 2009 - 2019

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    david.kuehn@giga-hamburg.de

    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 | 03/2022

    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

    Ingo Rohlfing

    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 Global | 3/2023

    Military Involvement in COVID-19 Responses: Comparing Asia and Latin America

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Asia and Latin America mobilised their armed forces for a broad range of related support activities. However, this military participation occurring in the two regions, even where extensive, did not necessarily threaten democracy and human rights.

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

    Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

    Ariam Macias-Weller

    GIGA Working Papers | 06/2023

    Militarisation of COVID-19 Responses and Autocratisation: A Comparative Study of Eight Countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America

    This working paper examines the military’s contributions to COVID-19 pandemic responses and their implications for democracy in eight countries in in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

    Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Ariam Macias-Weller

    Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

    Chapter in Edited Volume | 05/2023

    Die Politische Kontrolle des Militärs

    Im Zentrum dieses Beitrags stehen die Fragen nach der politischen Kontrolle des Militärs.

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

    Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

    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

    Democratization | 06/2022

    Book review of "Shock to the system: Coups, elections, and war on the road to democratization", by Michael K. Miller, Princeton, NJ and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2021

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    Research Projects

    Research Project | 15/01/2022 - 14/12/2024

    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, 2021-2024

    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

    Codastory | Interview | 26/02/2021

    A “surreal nightmare” in the Czech Republic and the global armed response to Covid-19

    Lectures

    Conference | 13/10/2023 - 15/10/2023

    Autocratization and the Military

    Armed Forces and Society Biennal International Conference, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Reston, Virginia Organisers: Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society Dr. David Kuehn (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant (Speaker)

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

    Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

    Conference | 13/10/2023 - 15/10/2023

    Armed Forces and Society Biennal International Conference

    Armed Forces and Society Biennal International Conference, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Reston, Virginia Organisers: Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society Dr. David Kuehn (Panelist)

    Chair and Discussant, multiple panels

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    GIGA Forum | 17/05/2022

    The War in Ukraine and the Global South: Perceptions, Reactions, and Implications

    The War in Ukraine and the Global South: Perceptions, Reactions, and Implications, Online Event Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig (Speaker), Dr. Johannes Plagemann (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Victor Mijares (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Moderator)

    While most United Nations members quickly condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine, a few actors in the Global South adopted a “neutral” stance. This GIGA Forum discusses how countries in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa perceive the war, are reacting to it, and what its consequences are for these states.

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

    Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

    Dr. Johannes Plagemann

    Prof. Dr. Victor Mijares

    Dr. David Kuehn

    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 | 2019

    Democratic Control of the Military

    Swiss Military Academy, ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland

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