My broad research interest is on the epistemic foundations of global order. Attempting to combine insights from international relations theory and theories of global governance with contemporary practice theory, new (French) pragmatism and science studies (notably post-ANT), I study processes and practices of ordering the globe.

My empirical interest lies in understanding how the merging fields of security, peace and development become re-ordered by international organizations (UN, EU, AU), secretariats (e.g. the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations), expert commissions (e.g. the Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty) and academic research (e.g. the discipline of International Relations). My current research project investigates the securitization and governance of contemporary maritime piracy.

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Current Projects

I am currently involved in three research contexts.

Piracy Studies: Since 2010 I work on the problem of contemporary maritime piracy. This case is especially interesting because it reveals many of the planning and implementation challenges of integrating security and development measures. Specifically I am interested in understanding how the international community coordinates actions against piracy on a global (UN), regional (East African) and local (Horn of Africa, Somalia) level and the consequences of security cooperation on each of these levels. I collaborate with several national and international partners to advance the inter-disciplinary project of piracy studies. Results of the project have been or will be published in the Journals Contemporary Security Policy, Global Policy, WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs, and an edited volume on the global governance of piracy forthcoming with Routledge. Presently I am working on a book length manuscript on the topic forthcoming with Polity Press. Part of the project is also to edit a research blog on Piracy Studies which documents academic work on contemporary piracy. Access to blog

International Organizations Studies: In the field of international organization I continue the research of my PhD project in developing a practice theory of international organizations. Practice-theory allows us to study international organizations as arenas of practices and as spaces where different actors and professions compete for authority. I elaborate this perspective in studying the organization of the security-development nexus at the United Nations. Conceptually I am notably interested in how the community of practice approach can be combined with theories of performativity and actor-network theory. Results of this project have been published in the journal Evidence and Policy and as a book chapter. Further results will be published in a research monograph.

Sociology of Science and Expertise: Sociology of Science (or better Science Studies) and International Relations have hardly entered a productive dialogue. However in both theoretical as well as empirical terms such cross-disciplinary collaboration is promising. This concerns the study of the role of experts in international relations, the impact of academic disciplines on policymaking as well as understanding the organization and (self-)regulation of academic disciplines, such as International Relations. I am notably interested in the role of academic concepts in shaping the global political imaginary and in conceptualizing expertise through actor-network theory. Presently I collaborate with Felix Bethke (University of Greifswald), Frank Gadinger (University of Duisburg-Essen) and Trine Villumsen (Center for Advanced Security Theory, Copenhagen). Results of this project have been published in the journals International Studies Perspectives, Journal of International Relations and Development and different (published or forthcoming) book chapters.

Conference Participation

I am a regular participant in the following conferences:

• Annual Conference of the International Studies Association (ISA)
• Conference of the World International Studies Committee (WISC)
• Conference of the Standing Group of International Relations (SGIR) of the ECPR
• Interpretative Policy Analysis (IPA) Conference

Reviewer Activities

African Security Review, European Journal of International Relations; International Studies Quarterly; Journal of International Relations and Development; Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding; International Peace Institute, NYC; Millennium: Journal of International Studies; Sicherheit + Frieden / Security + Peace; Security Dialogue