Welcome

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Hertie School's Centre for International Security in Berlin, where I work with Anita Gohdes. Before, I was a lecturer with the Chair of International Relations (Sabine Carey) at the University of Mannheim. I received my PhD from the Mannheim Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences. Previously, I also worked as a researcher for the ERC Project "Repression and the Escalation of Violence" and the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center "Political Economy of Reforms." In summer 2022, I substituted Nils-Christian Bormann as Professor of International Political Studies at Witten/Herdecke University. 
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I want to understand how authoritarian regimes work and why they fail. I am particularly interested in the organization of state repression and in the consequences for ordinary citizens. Check out my publications and works in progress to find out more about the following questions: How do dictators make their subordinates terrorize entire societies? Under what conditions do officers turn against their political leaders? Who consumes authoritarian state propaganda? Does media censorship prevent public resistance? And what happens around international sports events in authoritarian host regimes?

Publications

Articles

2022. "International Sports Events and Repression in Autocracies: Evidence from the 1978 FIFA World Cup." American Political Science Review, First View [with Adam Scharpf and Pearce Edwards]
2022. "Career Pressures and Organizational Evil: A Novel Perspective on the Study of Organized Violence." International Studies Review 24(3):  1-23 [with Adam Scharpf] 
2022. "Divergent Perceptions of Peace in Post-conflict Societies: Insights from Sri Lanka." Journal of Conflict Resolution, First View [with Sabine Carey and Belén González] 
2020. "Sometimes Less Is More: Censorship, News Falsification, and Disapproval in 1989 East Germany." American Journal of Political Science 64(3): 682-698 [with Katrin Paula] 
​2020. "Why Underachievers Dominate Secret Police Organizations: Evidence from Autocratic Argentina." American Journal of Political Science 64(4): 791-806 [with Adam Scharpf]
2020. "Grist to the Mill of Subversion: Strikes and Coups in Counterinsurgencies." European Journal of International Relations 26(4): 1032-1060 [with Belén González and Adam Scharpf] 

Work in progress

Book project

The Inner-Workings of Coercive Bureaucracies.
[with Adam Scharpf]

Working papers

Propaganda, Self-selection, and Information Cascades: The Black Channel in the Last Decade of the GDR.

Micro-Dynamics of Coups: Evidence from Argentina.
[with Adam Scharpf]

The Authoritarian Security Apparatus: Officer Careers and the Trade-offs in Command
[with Belén González and Adam Scharpf]

The Political Effects of Witnessing State Atrocities: Evidence from the Nazi Death Marches
[with Felix Haaß, Alexander de Juan, and Adam Scharpf]

Merch in Dictatorships.

Entertainment and Excessive Violence.

Teaching

Seminars

Spring 2023, Fall 2022. Authoritarian Politics in International Relations
[MA Substantive Seminar, Hertie School] 

Spring 2022. Fundamentals of International Relations and Global Governance
[MA Lecture, Witten/Herdecke University] 

Spring 2022. Introduction to International Politics
[BA Lecture, Witten/Herdecke University] 

Spring 2022. Authoritarian Politics in International Relations
[MA Substantive Seminar, Witten/Herdecke University] 

Spring 2022. Contentious Politics in International Perspective
[BA Substantive Seminar, Witten/Herdecke University] 

Fall 2021. Authoritarian Politics & International Relations
[MA Substantive Seminar, Hertie School] 

Fall 2020. Research Design and Practice
[PhD Methods Seminar, German Institute for Global and Area Studies Hamburg]

Fall 2020. Survey Methods and Experiments
[PhD Methods Seminar, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznán] [with Anna-Lena Hönig]

Spring 2020. State Repression
[BA Substantive Seminar, University of Mannheim] [with Anna-Lena Hönig]

Fall 2019. Actors and Dynamics of Authoritarian Rule
[BA Substantive Seminar, University of Mannheim] ​
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Spring 2019. Coercive Bureaucracies
[BA Substantive Seminar, University of Mannheim] ​

Spring 2016, 2017. Contentious Politics, Mobilization and Repression
[BA Substantive Seminar, University of Mannheim] 

Fall 2015, 2016. Political Violence and Repression
[BA ​Methods Seminar, University of Mannheim]

FAQ

1. You have a very cryptic surname, what should I do?

Please calm down and call me Christian or Chris. 

If you insist on formalities, my last name is pronounced ɡlɛːzl̩ (follow the link to enjoy the full listening experience. Interestingly, Gwyneth from Wales and Astrid from Sweden sound more authentic than Marlene from Germany).

FYI, the letter ß (called sharp s or backpack s) is the cornerstone of the German language and a constant companion of tens of millions of people in their everyday lives since it is a constituent part of the most important German words: Bußgeldbescheid (penalty notice), Fleiß (diligence), Kloß mit Soß (potato dumpling with sauce), Preußen (Prussia), and Scheiße (doo-doo).

For all LaTeX users, {\"a} produces "ä" and {\ss} gives "ß".

II. Usually no further questions.