Project Description

PD Dr. Simon Koschut

Prof. Dr. Simon Koschut

Principal Investigator

Short Vita

I am a Professor of International Security at Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen. My research interest lies in International Relations, in particular regional security governance, norms, and emotions in world politics. Previously, I held positions at Freie Universität Berlin,  Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, San Francisco State University, and the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg.  I completed both my PhD and my Habilitation in Political Science at the University of Potsdam.

What I find exciting about this research initiative

This research initiative will improve our understanding of the social interaction dynamics that promote or undermine social cohesion. I am excited to join this group of scholars from various disciplines and institutions to work together on causes and solutions for social cohesion because my research profile both benefits from and contributes to the combination of a disciplinary anchoring with an interdisciplinary way of thinking and working. In my research, I work closely with colleagues from sociology, history and psychology. I am currently working on a book project that combines ritual theory with intergroup emotions theory to explain how social cohesion is made possible among NATO members.

What my discipline can contribute to this research initiative

The discipline of International Relations revolves around different conceptions and contains key insights into how political order can be achieved beyond the state. This requires a more fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of social cohesion that underpins global political order. Social cohesion in international organizations, transnational groups, and global civil society adds a significant macro-level perspective to the project. What is particularly interesting is the study of the multiple links between local, state, and global actors and how this contributes to various forms of social cohesion at different levels.

Five key publications

  • Koschut, Simon 2020: The Power of Emotions in World Politics, New York: Routledge

  • Koschut, Simon 2018: No Sympathy For the Devil: Emotions and the Social Construction of the Democratic Peace, in: Cooperation and Conflict 53: 3, 320-338

  • Koschut, Simon 2015: Macht der Gefühle: Zur Bedeutung von Emotionen für die sozialkonstruktivistische Diskursforschung, in: Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 22: 2, 7-33. Best Paper Award of the DVPW International Relations Section

  • Koschut, Simon 2016: Undoing Peace. Normative Change and Security Community Disintegration, New York: NY: Palgrave MacmillanWinner of the Ernst Otto Czempiel Award 2018 for the best postdoctoral monograph published in the field of peace research

  • Koschut, Simon 2014: Emotional (security) communities: The significance of emotion norms in inter-allied conflict management’, in: Review of International Studies 40: 3, 533-558

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