Education
2011 - Ph.D., University of Chicago
2003 - M.A., University of Chicago
2001 - Diplo, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
I am a native of Berlin, Germany and received my undergraduate degree in Social Sciences from the Humboldt Universitaet zu Berlin. I earned my PhD in Political Science at the University of Chicago. Before joining the faculty at Saint Anselm College, I taught at the Committee of International Relations at the University of Chicago. At Saint Anselm I teach courses in comparative politics and international relations. I teach introductory classes that give a broad overview over the relationship between states in the international system, the causes of war and peace, international economic cooperation, and the unique challenges of comparing political institutions and sources of conflicts across borders. I also teach more specialized classes on international law and international organizations, subjects that are particularly close to my research interests.
My research centers on global governance. I study the origins of international law and institutions and how these influence state behavior. In my dissertation I traced the evolution of the concept of "international crimes" through legal debates in the early 20th century and showed how these debates influenced the creation of the International Criminal Court. My current research project delves deeper into the history of international courts by focusing on 19th and early 20th century social networks of international lawyers that were central to shaping the institutional framework that still dominates international relations today. My research in the creation of international institutions also touches on questions of justice, morality, and ethics by investigating how international institutions help address or reinforce persistent inequalities among actor in international relation.