Category: IR in Science

YJEA: I would like to start by asking how you first became interested in the field of political science and European politics? Thomas König: My primary interest was stimulated by a very creative and unconventional professor in Mannheim, Professor Wildenmann, who focused on political institutions. We, his students, were very different in terms of theory, methods, and substance, but we had one thing in common, namely the focus on political institutions. Theoretically and methodologically, we decided to study the interactions between political actors and institutions, first from a comparative perspective […]

A little while ago, we spoke to Dr Nele Kortendiek about her work, how she approaches research designs and what students should be aware of when carving out a research idea. This interview with Prof Lisbeth Zimmermann from Zeppelin University is the second part of our series on research design and will provide you will valuable insights for your next paper.   YJEA: You mainly do research in the field of multilateral cooperation and international norms and institutions. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Zimmermann: They are the […]

Moving on in the research process, we talked to Nele Kortendiek from the Zeppelin University about research design and methods. In this interview, we gained insights into what to do and what not when developing your research design as well as in Dr Kortendiek’s current research on civil society contestation of international organisations (IOs).   YJEA: Your field of research lays mainly in international organisations and migration policy. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Kortendiek: To begin with, I was very much interested in the basic question of […]

As our series on how to improve your research continues, we went on to talk to Prof Dr Christian Kreuder-Sonnen about his professional tips and tricks to find the right literature, sort out what already exists in the field and how to embed your own research in it.   YJEA: Most of your research centers around the field of global governance with a focus on the issues of democratic legitimacy and constitutionalism. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Kreuder-Sonnen: These topics are so foundational and involve such fundamental […]

With this article, we follow up on the previous IR in Science contribution with Dr Monique Taylor regarding theory. This time we asked Prof Dr Elvira Rosert how to work with theories once you already found a suitable theoretical framework and discussed other aspects regarding theories that interested us.   YJEA: You mainly do research in the field of international norms and international humanitarian law. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Rosert: My overarching research interest lies in the question of how social progress is possible. How can […]

In our second contribution to the science blog, we are interested in how to find a suitable theory for your research. We, therefore, talked to Dr Monique Taylor, lecturer at the University of Helsinki, and received some useful tips on finding a theoretical approach and becoming a better researcher.   YJEA: You do research mainly in the field of international political economy (IPE), with a particular interest in governance and institutional change and focus on China and Southeast Asia. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Taylor: In essence, […]

This is the first contribution to our science blog. This category is designed to help students improve their research and rewrite and edit papers into articles ready for publication. We interview senior academics and ask them for their tips for successful and innovative research. This article is the first in a series and deals with the search for an innovative research question and testable hypotheses. For this purpose, we have talked to Prof Dr Christoph Demmke (University of Vaasa) and Prof  Dr Berthold Rittberger (University of Munich) to ask them […]