Goethe-Universität — Gesellschaftswissenschaften

Welcome to the page of the professorship

International Relations studies the interactions of states, international organizations, non-state actors (such as non-governmental organizations or companies), and individuals across national borders.

We focus, on the one hand, on the change of international institutions and norms – as well as their contestation. On the other hand, we explore the role of international institutions in conflict and peace processes.

In this context, the team at the chair offers the following thematic expertise:

International organizations
International norms
Non-state actors in international politics
legitimacy and authority in global governance
democracy and rule of law promotion
international peace operations
international migration and asylum politics

The specific expertise covers the following topics:

the international regulation of child labor
the international drug control regime
global governance in the area of female genital mutilation/cutting
global cooperation on human trafficking
the European border regime
the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
hybrid courts and commissions against impunity
protest and advocacy strategies of transnational networks of affected groups
transnational politics of the new Right

For more information on current projects, please follow the below link to our project site.

The team of the Chair of International Institutions and Peace Processes

Here you will find everything about current events/publications/lectures/job postings and other current topics of the professorship.

CURRENT

Current events

NMUN registration, Frankfurt delegation Winterterm 24/25

The National Model United Nations (NMUN) is the largest and oldest simulation of the United Nations. It takes place every year in New York City with about 5000 participants. Each delegation from a university jointly represents one state at the five-day simulation. The participants of each delegation are divided into different committees and represent "their" state as realistically as possible. Students work on given topics in informal and formal sessions, draft resolutions, and vote upon them. The NMUN is a unique opportunity to get in touch with international politics and diplomacy, to gain experience in project management, fundraising, PR etc. and to get an insight into working processes of international organizations. Besides, it offers the opportunity to meet students from all over the world and gain intercultural experience.

The NMUN delegation of the Goethe University for the upcoming NMUN will be constituted at the end of this lecture period in this summer semester. Afterwards, the joint preparation time begins which includes a weekly seminar and self-organized working groups.

Prerequisite for the participation in the delegation of Goethe University is either the attendance of the course "International Organizations" or already existing Model United Nations or similar experience in whatever form.

If you would like to participate, please mail by July 14, 2024 to l.zimmermann@soz.uni-frankfurt.de and m.braeutigam@soz.uni-frankfurt.de.

Roundtable: Institutional Innovation or More of the Same?

The Global Compact on Migration and its Impact on International Mobility from a Cross-Regional Perspective

02.07.2024, 16h30-18h00,

Goethe University Frankfurt

Campus Westend, PEG Building, Room 3.G 170

Zoom:

https://uni-frankfurt.zoom-x.de/j/66022596525?pwd=wfxHJbylbowvLGaaearyJcFd7aRMIK.1

Meeting ID: 660 2259 6525

Passcode: 675333

How does the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) impact international mobility? Heralded as a breakthrough in
global migration governance, the GCM promised to make cross-border mobility easier and safer for many peopleworldwide. Now, with the GCM in the process of being implemented under the supervision of the IOM, it remains to be seen whether it actually translates into a better standing for people on the move in global migration politics. During this roundtable, the four panelists will discuss the different implications of the GCM for international migration patterns and politics. Drawing on their specific regional and institutional expertise (including the African Union, the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees), they will provide fresh insights into the compact's potential for shaping migration dynamics and including migrants into global policy-making.

Speakers:

Younous Arbaoui (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Yassine Ben Mokhtar (Université Internationale de Rabat)

Nicholas Micinski (University of Maine)

Melina Tretmans (Goethe University Frankfurt)

Chair:

Nele Kortendiek (Goethe University Frankfurt)

New Publications

New publication on norm dynamics and the crisis of the liberal international order

Lisbeth Zimmermann untersucht mit KollegInnen den Einfluss von formellen und informellen Hierarchien auf die Eskalation von Kontestation im Kontext des internationalen Folterverbots und dem Internationalen Strafgerichtshof.

Max Lesch, Lisbeth Zimmermann, Nicole Deitelhoff, Contestation from Within: Norm Dynamics and the Crisis of the Liberal International Order, Global Studies Quarterly, Volume 4, Issue 2, April 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/isagsq/ksae022

The Link between Contestation and Norm Robustness

New book on international norm disputes published at Oxford University Press

International norms, institutions, and the international order itself are increasingly under challenge in virtually every policy area – from human rights and global health, through trade and climate change, to arms control and international peace and security law. International relations scholars have begun to study the effects of norm contestation, backlash against institutions and courts, and the broader crisis of the liberal international order. Whether contestation weakens or even strengthens international norms has inspired a lively debate in international relations and international law. Does contestation always intrinsically weaken norms, or is contestation itself a normative force that reinforces norms in their validity through continuous actualization?

In their newly released volume “International Norm Disputes: The Link between Contestation and Norm Robustness " Lisbeth Zimmermann, Nicole Deitelhoff, Max Lesch, Antonio Arcudi, and Anton Peez explore how the dispute over international norms affects their validity. The book compares four contemporary cases of contested norms – the torture prohibition, the responsibility to protect, the moratorium on commercial whaling, and the duty to prosecute institutionalized in the International Criminal Court – and two historical cases – privateering and the transatlantic slave trade.

The book is the result of the project “Norm Disputes: Contestation and NormRobustness", which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

New Publication on the Visual Framing of Refugees by International Organizations

In the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Nele Kortendiek and Joseph Oertel examine the effects of the UNHCR's visual framing of refugees on attitudes toward asylum seekers in Germany. Using a survey experiment, they show that the representation of refugees as helpless, which is supposed to lead to an increased willingness to accept them, can have paradoxical effects. Due to a strengthened perception of displaced people as economically burdensome, the willingness to accept them decreases. The article can be read here.

Caught between vulnerability and competence: UNHCR's visual framing of refugees, economic threat perceptions and attitudes towards asylum seekers in Germany. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2023.2179151

Current courses

Other

Guest researcher Yassine Ben Mokthar visits from the Université Internationale de Rabat

From 24 June to 5 July, Yassine Ben Mokthar from the UIR will be visiting the transMID research group based at the chair. He is examining the role of the African Migration Observatory, a body of the African Union Commission, in migration policy and governance. During his visit to Frankfurt, he will exchange ideas with the chair's researchers and the research group in the context of a roundtable discussion and other events.

Dr Nele Kortendiek directs new research project funded by the DFG

From January 2024, Dr Nele Kortendiek will be leading a research project funded by the DFG as part of the transMID research group on the making and implementation of norms for the protection of refugees by international organisations. Together with Melina Tretmans, a doctoral researcher in the project, she is analysing how UNHCR and IOM develop and implement gender norms and norms for the protection of migrants with disabilities. To this end, they are analysing harmonisation and differentiation processes at headquarter level and in the field and identifying factors that promote effective protection on the ground.

Further information can be found on the research pages.

Professorship for International Institutions and Peace Processes