Welcome to the Chair of International Politics

How can we explain cooperation and conflict among states? How do different models and visions of international order influence cooperation and conflict, war and peace between states? What role do international organisations play, and have played, in the history of international relations? What destructive and productive effects does the contestation of international institutions, norms and rules have on international order? How does international cooperation contribute to addressing, or even resolving, global problems such as war, poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, climate change, gender discrimination or food security? These questions lie at the heart of research and teaching at the Chair of International Politics at TU Dresden. We want to know, through our research collaborations and with our students, who holds power in international politics and what the source of that power is. Why, for example, can a large NGO like Greenpeace hold more power then a small Pacific island state in global climate negotiations? Among many other things, our interest lies in understanding what influence non-state actors, such as non-governmental organisations and multinational companies, have on the creation and modification of rules and norms in international politics.

We are committed to facilitating well-founded, nuanced and controversial theoretical discussions in both research and teaching; to imparting and further developing diverse methodological approaches to the study of international politics; to addressing traditional fields of research; and to setting new empirical priorities. Our research activities therefore focus on the following topics: the impact and transformation of international organisations; the role of non-state actors (NGOs, companies, academics, foundations and many more); the often turbulent history of international norms; and empirical topics from the fields of foreign policy, peace and conflict studies, international political economy, global social policy (in particular development and environmental policy) and human rights issues.