CV
My research is located at the intersection of international relations and historical political sociology. Eastern and southern Africa are my areas of geographic specialization.
I am presently conducting research on transnational processes impacting social policies and state formation in South Africa and Tanzania. This research is part of the CRC 1342 on Global Dynamics of Social Policy, and more specifically contributes to a comparison of “The rise, decay and renaissance of welfare politics” in Africa.
On the Democratic Republic of Congo, I have conducted several research projects. My doctoral dissertation analyses the interplay of humanitarian military intervention, armed groups, and local structures of rule in this country. I also direct a project on international efforts to combat sexualised violence in the DR Congo.
My teaching and research interests furthermore include topics like development cooperation, sovereign debt politics, the dynamics between collective contentious action and internationalized authority, conflict studies, and post-conflict state formation. Before joining the InIIS at the University of Bremen in 2011, I have been a researcher at Humboldt-University Berlin, University of Magdeburg and University of Bielefeld. From September 2013 to February 2014, I have been a visiting fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.
Academic PositionsStudies and Degrees
International research
International research
2016 and 2017 Several research stays in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on projects and programs against sexualised violence
February - April 2016 Research on international organisations' activities against sexualised violence in conflict contexts, New York City and Washington DC, USA
July - August 2008
Ethnographic Research in the Democratic Republic of Congo, funded by the German Institute for Human Rights
March - June 2006,
September - December 2005
Ethnographic Research in the Demokratic Republic of Congo and in Uganda
January - February 2005
Research preparation in Bordeaux, France
October - December 2002
Research for M.A. dissertation in Gauteng, South Africa, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)