PhD and Habilitation Projects

Type of supervision  
First supervisor

Steve Biedermann -External link Informal International Governmental Organizations 

Christopher Brucker -External link International Norms as Strategic Resources in Secession Conflicts

Roman Labunski - The Russia-Ukraine Conflict: A Clash of Civilizations? Critical Discourse Analysis from the point of view of Critical Geopolitics

Ivan Laškarin - Minority Groups between Secessionism and Irredentism: A Comparative Study 

Phuong Anh Nguyen - The Road to Reconciliation between Vietnam and the United States from 1975 to 1995

Bidzina Lebanon - de Old Wine in a New Bottle? Critical Appraisal of the Resilience Paradigm in the EU's New Global Agenda (Habilitation)

Géza Tasner - Strategic Rivalry in Secessionist Conflicts

Sung Jin Park - Politics of Memory in post-Conflict Societies

Lea Zuliani - Why Do Rebels Shift Their Claim Between Autonomy and Secession?

Ina Siemer - Mapping Frozen Conflict Lines and Analyzing Actor Strategies in Humanitarian Aid

Second supervisor

 

Finished dissertations

Sebastian Hoppe (2025)  -External link The Political Economy of Rent and the Making of State Strategy in Putin's Russia

Shota Shvelidze (2025) - Reconciliation – a Framework Concept in Politically Unresolved Ethno-Political Conflict: Case Study of Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict (First supervisor: Prof. Martin Leiner )

Sebastian Relitz ( 2021 ) - Conflict Resolution in De Facto States: The Practice of Engagement without RecognitionExternal link (First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann, Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Stefan Wolff )

Christian Opitz ( 2019 ) - Between formality and informality. Structural conditions of influence in an international organization using the example of civil crisis management in the European Union (First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann, Second Supervisor: Dr. Viktoria von Groddeck)

Johannes Gold ( 2018 ) - Interethnic Relations in Post-War Societies: Everyday Life and Conflict in the Multiethnic City of PrizrenExternal link (First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann, Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anton Sterbling)

Carolina Rehrmann ( 2018 ) - The Cyprus Conflict: A Social-Psychological Discourse Analysis (First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann, Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Leiner)

Matthias Schulze (2017) - From Cyber-Utopia to Cyber-War. Advocacy Coalitions and the Normative Change in CyberspaceExternal link (First supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann, Second supervisor: Dr. Myriam Dunn Cavelty)

Mladen Billionalj ( 2015 ) - Stasis among Powers. The Destruction of Yugoslavia after the Cold WarExternal link(First supervisor: Prof. Amilcar Barreto; Third supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann)

Martin Beischl (2013) - The European policy of Croatian parties: models, priorities and development prospectsExternal link (First supervisor: Dr. Olaf Leisse; Second supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann)