Matthias Hofferberth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science and Geography
Research area: Global Governance and Globalization, Non-State Actors in World Politics, Theories of International Relations, Reconstructive Method(ologie)s
Curriculum Vitae
Bio
Born and educated in Germany, I completed my M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at Goethe University, Frankfurt. I arrived at UTSA in January 2013 and received tenure in 2018. My research relates to world politics and global governance. In particular, I am interested in the emergence of agency beyond nation states, which includes private actors such as multinational enterprises as well as intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations.
I have published on multinational enterprises and corporate agency in world politics with Nomos and Lynne Rienner Publishers. My journal articles appear in International Studies Review, Journal of International Relations and Development, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Business and Politics, Global Society, and Palgrave Communications. In terms of teaching, I offer courses on global governance, international organizations, and related themes which reflect my research interests. I approach these courses from a student-centered pedagogy since I believe this offers the best learning experience.
This year, I received the President's Distinguished Achievement Award for Advancing Globalization and I am proud to serve as faculty advisor for the Model United Nations Society at UTSA and for Sigma Iota Rho - please contact me if you have any questions on these activities! I also recently hosted the MA in Global Affairs Launch Event and will lead the Study Abroad to Frankfurt & Geneva in the Summer.
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Degrees
- Ph.D., Goethe-University Frankfurt, 2012
- M.A. in Political Science & Contemporary History, Goethe-University Frankfurt, 2007
Research in Progress
Research Topics & Interests:
- Agency & Actorhood in World Politics
- International Organizations & Interorganizational Relations
- International Organizations, Legitimacy, Social Media & the United Nations
- Multinational Enterprises & Corporate Practices in Global Governance
- American Pragmatism, Relationalism & Social Theory
- Interpretive & Reconstructive Research Method(ologie)sa
Work-in-Progress / Unpublished Conference Papers:
- Tweeting to Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War? The UN, Twitter & Communicative Action, presented at International Organizations and Digital Diplomacy Workshop, Dalhousie University, April 24.
- “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”. World Politics in a Post-Governance World, presented at ISA 2019 Annual Convention, Toronto, March 27-30.
- Having Foxes Guard the Hen House? Reconstructing the Origins of Corporate Agency in Global Governance, presented at the ISA 2019 Annual Convention, Toronto, March 27-30.
- The Diffusion of Agency in World Politics. Reconstructing the Foundations of Global Governance, presented at the 2017 DVPW IB-Sektionstagung, Bremen, October 4-6.
- Inter-Organizational Relations meets Global Governance: The UN Global Compact as a Relational Configuration, presented at the 2017 DVPW IB-Sektionstagung, Bremen, October 4-6.
Recent Publications
Refereed Book Publications:
Refereed Journal Articles:
- Get Your Act(ors) Together! Theorizing Agency in Global Governance (2019), in: International Studies Review 21: 1, 127-145.
- “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.
- “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:
- Corporate Actors in Global Governance (2019), in: Hofferberth, Matthias (ed.): Corporate Actors in Global Governance. Business as Usual or New Deal? Lynne Rienner Publishers: Boulder, CO, 1-24
- Securing Value over the Long Term? ExxonMobil and the Aceh Crisis (2019), in: Hofferberth, Matthias (ed.): Corporate Actors in Global Governance. Business as Usual or New Deal? Lynne Rienner Publishers: Boulder, CO, 173-195.
- 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
Below you find a list of classes that I taught at UTSA together with their respective course evaluations.
Spring Term 2020
- GLA 3103 -Research Methods in Global Affairs
- GLA/POL 4973 - Senior Seminar: International Organizations & Social Media
Fall Term 2019:
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Fall Term 2013:
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Spring Term 2013:
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.
