Research Interests

Illegal market mechanisms can be compared to those of legal markets. Due to a significant overlap of both, the prevention of transactions across legal and illegal market spheres is a central task of governance. Yet, we face huge institutional variance from completely state-based forms of governance to completely private regulations. By comparing different cases of illegal markets and the public-private interplay in governing them, we aim to resolve the question of why specific forms are established and how this impacts the overall governance aim.

Criminals and gangs, rebels or hackers are increasingly defined as new types of security threat and have become a central concern in world politics. At the same time, issues like climate change, water scarcity or weak governance capabilities have been identified as potential triggers of conflict. Our research in this field analyses the impact of these actors and issues on the societal, national and international order.

Our different research strands feed into research on the current state of international affairs and world society. Our research interest lies in the systematic exploration of norms and policies on the international level, and of the actors involved in promoting or implementing them. This includes research on global governance and international organizations, transnational governance, global norms and policy diffusion.