Bio

Born and educated in Germany, I started my tenure-track as Assistant Professor at UTSA in January 2013. Before I came here, I completed my M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at Goethe University, Frankfurt. My work relates to world politics. In particular, I am interested in non-state actors and their involvement in global governance. I also share a broader interest in theories of action and in interpretive as well as reconstructive methodologies.

I recently published a book on 'Multinational Enterprises in World Politics' with Nomos and my journal articles appear in Journal of International Relations and Development, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Business and Politics, Global Society, and Palgrave Communications.

I regularly offer courses related to global governance, international organizations, and related themes which reflect my research interests. I approach teaching from the firm belief that interactive, engaging, and student-centered seminars are the best way to learn.

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Degrees

• Ph.D., Goethe-University Frankfurt, 2012
• M.A. in Political Science & Contemporary History, Goethe-University Frankfurt, 2007

Current Courses:

• GLA 1013 - US in the Global Arena (Fall 2017)
• GLA / POL 4973 - Multinational Enterprises in World Politics (Fall 2017)

Upcoming Courses (Spring 2018):

• POL 2533 - Introduction to Political Science
• GLA 3103 - Research Methods in Global Affairs

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Recent Courses

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Summer Term 2017:

• POL / GLA 4853 - Study Abroad: Globalization in Transatlantic Perspectives (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation [including German students])

Spring Term 2017:

• POL 2533 - Introduction to Political Science (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• GLA 3533 - The United Nations (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Fall Term 2016:

• POL 3513 - International Organizations in World Politics (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL 5723 - International Organizations (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Summer Term 2016:

• POL/GLA 3763 - Globalization (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Spring Term 2016:

• GLA 1013 - US in the Global Arena (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• GLA/POL 3483 - International Political Economy (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Fall Term 2015:

• POL 2533 - Introduction to Political Science (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL 3513 - International Organizations in World Politics (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Summer Term 2015:

• POL/GLA 3763 - Study Abroad: Globalization (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation [including German students])

Spring Term 2015:

• GLA 1013 - US in the Global Arena (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• GLA/POL 4973 - The United Nations (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Fall Term 2014:

• POL 3513 - International Organizations in World Politics (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL 5873 - Global Governance (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Summer Term 2014:

•  POL 3763 - Globalization (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Spring Term 2014:

• GLA 1013 / POL 1213 - US in the Global Arena (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Fall Term 2013:

• GLA 3213 / POL 4953 - Theories of International Relations (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL 3043 - Human Rights (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL 3513 - International Organizations (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Summer Term 2013:

• POL/INS 3763 - Globalization (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL 5873 - Global Governance (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

Spring Term 2013:

• POL/INS 3763 - Globalization (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)
• POL/GLA 4203 - Current Topics in Global Analysis (UTSA evaluation / instructor evaluation)

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Research in Progress

jUnpublished Conference Papers / Work-in-Progress:

• The Global, the Regional & the Ugly. Theorizing Agency in World Politics, presented at the ISA Annual Convention, 22-25 February, 2017.
• The Global, the Regional & the Ugly. Theorizing Relational Configurations in Global Governance, presented at the 2016 DVPW Dreiländertagung, Heidelberg, September 29-October 1, 2016.
• Of Empires of Profit and Norm Entrepreneurs. Multinational Enterprises and Their Actor Images in IR, presented at the ISA Annual Convention, 16-19 March, 2016.
• “And of course our major contribution remains to run a decent business” – Corporate self-understandings of Shell and ExxonMobil in crises, presented at the ISA Annual Convention, March 26-30, 2014.
• Get your act(ors) together. Actorhood and agency from a pragmatist-inspired perspective, presented at the ISA Annual Convention,April, 3-6, 2013.
• "The businessman whose master plan controls the world each day". Multinational enterprises and their actor images in IR, presented at the Dreiländertagung der SVPW, DVPW and ÖGPW in Basel, 13-14 January 2011 and at the Transnational Private Regulation-Workshop at FU Berlin, January 28-29, 2011.

Further Research Topics & Interests:

• Agency & Actorhood in Global Governance
• Multinational Enterprises & Corporate Practices in Global Governance
• International Organizations, Interorganizational Relations & the United Nations
• Discursive Foundations & Legitimizations of Global Governance
• American Pragmatism, Relationalism & Social Theory
• Interpretive & Reconstructive Research Method(ologie)s

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Recent Publications

jRefereed Book Publications & Journal Articles:

• “And of course our major contribution remains to run a decent business”. Making Sense of Shell's Sense-Making in Nigeria during the 1990s (2017), in: Business and Politics 19: 1, 135-165.
• Multinationale Unternehmen in der Weltpolitik. Zur Kontingenz von Rolle und Bedeutung 'sozialer Akteure' (2016) [Multinational Enterprises in World Politics. On the Contingency of Role and Meaning of 'Social Actors'] (2016), Nomos: Baden-Baden.
• “Confusion is a fundamental state of mind”. On the Peculiar Intellectual Career of Global Governance in International Relations (2016), in: Palgrave Communications 2 (Open Access Article)
• Mapping the Meanings of Global Governance. A Conceptual Reconstruction of a Floating Signifier (2015), in: Millennium - Journal of International Studies 43: 2, 598-617.
• Lost in translation. A critique of constructivist norm research (2015), in: Journal of International Relations and Development 18: 1, 75-103 (together with Christian Weber).
• The Binding Dynamics of Non-Binding Governance Arrangements. The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the Cases of BP and Chevron (2011), in: Business and Politics 13: 4.
• Multinational Enterprises as “Social Actors”. Constructivist Explanations for Corporate Social Responsibility (2011), in: Global Society 25: 2, 205-226 (together with Tanja Brühl, Eric Burkart, Marco Fey and Anne Peltner)

Refereed Book Chapters & Reviews

• Global Governance (2016), in: Farazmand, Ali (ed.): Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, Springer: New York.
• Global Companies as Social Actors: Constructing Private Business in Global Governance (2013), in: Mikler, John (ed.): The Handbook of Global Companies, Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester, 351-370.
• Von Sequenzanschlüssen, Fallstrukturmomenten und Bedeutungskategorien. Zur Analyse multinationaler Unternehmen anhand der Verbindung von objektiver Hermeneutik und Grounded Theory (2013), in: Franke, Ulrich / Roos, Ulrich (ed.): Rekonstruktive Methoden der Weltpolitikforschung, Nomos: Wiesbaden, 59-98.
• To Perpetual Peace - A Disciplinary Stretch. Review of Peace in International Relations by Oliver P. Richmond, London: Routledge (2009), in: International Affairs 85:3.
• Die öffentliche (Nicht-)Wahrnehmung der EU als Akteur in der Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (2008), in: Tatur, Melanie (ed.): Nationales oder kosmopolitisches Europa? Fallstudien zur Medienöffentlichkeit in Europa, Wiesbaden, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 211-222.

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Additional Information

I am proud to serve as the faculty advisor for the Model United Nations Society at UTSA - please find more information and the link to register for our upcoming 2017 Alamo Model UN Conference in the Fall right here!

Legal written notification:

Pursuant to HOP 9.48, Carrying of Concealed Handguns on Campus, my private office (MS 4.03.55) is a designated exclusion zone. As set out in Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed to carry a Concealed Handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411 Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property/office with a concealed handgun.

De conformidad con HOP 9.48, Llevar Armas de Fuego Encubiertas en el Campus, mi oficina privada (MS 4.03.55) es una zona designada de exclusión. Conforme a la sección 30.06 del código penal (trespasar portando armas de fuego) personas con licencia bajo del sub-capitulo H, capitulo 411, codigo de gobierno (ley de portar armas), no deben entrar a esta propiedad portando un arma de fuego.