From Epistemology to Practice: A Sociology of Science for International Relations. Journal of International Relations and Development, 15 (1):97-109.

Sozialwissenschaften in der globalen Politik - der Fall der Friedensschaffungspolitik der Vereinten Nationen [Social science in global politics - the case of peacebuilding politics of the UN], in Wissenschaft, Wissen and Global Commons, edited by Jost Halfmann und Melanie Morisse-Schilbach. Baden Baden: Nomos, 2012.

SUMMARY: The chapter reflects on the paradox that there is so little work on the role of social science as an actor of global politics. I discuss reasons that speak against such type of research and conclude that such research is promising. The case of UN Peacebuilding politics is discussed to explore avenues for research on the role of social science in global politics.

Drops in the Bucket? A Review of Onshore Responses to Somali Piracy, WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs 15 (1): 15-31.

SUMMARY: That piracy needs to be addressed onshore is a widely shared assumption. While the majority of counter-piracy measures focus on the sea, a number of onshore counter-piracy initiatives have been launched. We can observe the seeds of an alternative land-based policy approach. One set of land-based programs aims at strengthening the legal and security state apparatus to better deter and punish pirates. The other set of programs aims at addressing local populations on regional, clan or village levels. Such projects aim at increasing surveillance, sensitizing populations for the consequences of piracy, and providing rehabilitation or alternative livelihood opportuniti es. In this article, I review the latter type of projects and discuss the promises and difficulties of addressing piracy by such measures. I discuss five major problems: knowledge problems, implementation problems, counterintuitive consequences, tensions towards other parts of counter-piracy strategy, and the securitization of aid.

The Clash of Practice: Political Controversy and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission. Evidence & Policy 7 (2):171-193.

Pirates, Fishermen and Peacebuilding: Options for a Sustainable Counter-Piracy Strategy in Somalia. Contemporary Security Policy 32 (2):356-381. (with Jan Stockbruegger and Sascha Werthes) [abstract]

SUMMARY: The dominant approach to counter-piracy strategy off Somalia is astonishingly narrow minded. Deterrence, surveillance and military operations do not provide a sustainable or efficient solution. Better strategic alternatives must drawing on the lessons of 21st century peace operations. This perspective leads to an understanding of counter-piracy as a problem of peacebuilding. This allows restructuring and re-framing the problem to permit a much wider repertoire of policy solutions than currently conceived. This repertoire may include development and security assistance programmes as well as state-building programmes. The approach also permits integration of lessons learned in the frame of international peacebuilding operations, including avoiding technocratic solutions, focusing on power constellations, integrating local knowledge and incrementalism. If the international community takes piracy seriously and tries to respond to its complexity, it is well advised to adopt a policy in which such alternatives are considered.

Praktisch Gedacht! Praxistheoretischer Konstruktivismus in den Internationalen Beziehungen. [Think Practical! Practice-theoretical constructivisms in international relations]. Zeitschrift fuer Internationale Beziehungen 15 (2):273-302. 2008.(with Frank Gadinger)

SUMMARY: The article discusses recent proposals for introducing practice theory to international relations theory. It is argued that practice theories present at least four crucial challenges to IR theory. First, the repetitive character of practice, and the degree of stability reached in social orders, second, materiality and the quest of material agency, third, a moderate reflexive understanding of scientific practice highlighting the social consequences of scientific reasoning, and, fourth, a reconsideration of the spectrum of methods in IR. The contribution provides an analytical summary of the turn to practice in IR, and an identification of the key challenges associated with it.

SUMMARY:  Paper criticizes contemporary thoughts about the relation between theory and praxis and develops an alternative based on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Bruno Latour. We provide some evidence by discussing the case of the interaction between peace research and US security policy via research on the Democratic Peace.

Reassembling and Dissecting: International Relation Practice from a Science Studies Perspective. International Studies Perspectives 8 (1):90-110. 2007.(with Frank Gadinger) [abstract]

SUMMARY: Paper discusses IR's disciplinary sociology debate and shows the different ways the relation between science and policy is conceptualized. It develops an alternative comparative research design based on contemporary Science Studies.

SUMMARY:  Chapter questions if the contemporary metaphors used to describe IR's relation with its environment are adequate in the light of an upcoming knowledge society. An alternative vocabulary is developed based on actor network theory.

The Formalization of Informality. Practice-theoretical considerations. (in German) in Informelles Regieren, edited by Timo Grunden, Wiesabden: VS Verlag (with Frank Gadinger)

SUMMARY: 'Informal governing' and 'informal politics' are terms that have been introduced to political science to speak of the many activities of political actors which cannot be grasped by a focus on formal institutions. The paper critically reflects on the underlying distinction between formal and informal. It is argued that the discovery of informality is useful in empirical terms, but the distinction is theoretically unproductive. We introduce theories of practice as an alternative.

Das Auswärtige Amt auf dem Weg zu einer neuen Beratungskultur? Der Dialog zwischen externem Fachwissen und Politik im Feld der Außenpolitik. [Is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the way to a new advisory culture? On the Dialogue between Expertise and Politics in the field of foreign policy]. In Handbuch Politikberatung, edited by S. Falk, D. Rehfeld, A. Römmele and M. Thunert. Opladen/Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. 2006.

SUMMARY:  A discussion of recent changes in the foreign policy advisory system in Germany and its consequences for the dialogue between science and policy.

New European Security Theory: Zur Emergenz eines neuen europäischen Forschungsprogramms. [On the emergence of a new research program] Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 12 (2):117-126. 2005. (with Holger Stritzel).

SUMMARY:  Conducts a discourse analysis of German and US foreign policy towards NATO enlargement and tries to trace the role the Democratic Peace thesis had in this discourses. A model is developed how the interlocking nature between scientific and policy discourses functions.