Professor Dr. Simon Koschut takes over Chair of International Security Policy

“I was particularly impressed with the interdisciplinary focus and the high level of student engagement at ZU. There is also a cosmopolitan atmosphere of mutual appreciation, diversity, and a passionate and open culture of debate that makes ZU very special in the German university landscape,” said Simon Koschut, explaining his reasons for moving to ZU. “I am really looking forward to my new responsibilities and am proud to be a part of this university community.”

Simon Koschut studied political science and North American studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, at the University of Potsdam and at the Freie Universität Berlin. Before he did his doctorate at the University of Potsdam on “The Limits of Cooperation. Security and Transatlantic Identity after the End of the East-West Conflict,” he worked as a research associate in the U.S./Transatlantic Relations Program at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). After receiving his doctorate, he held an assistant professorship in North American foreign and security policy at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Subsequently, Simon Koschut received a one-year research fellowship from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and worked for several years as an academic advisor at the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. For his postdoctoral thesis at the University of Potsdam, Simon Koschut received the Ernst Otto Czempiel Prize for the best postdoctoral monograph in peace and conflict research. Most recently, Simon Koschut held the position of Acting Professor of International Relations at Freie Universität Berlin.

“The range and complexity of security challenges facing the world have never been greater – and they continue to increase. Climate change, pandemics, cyberattacks, violent extremism, and interstate rivalries are a constant threat to people around the world. We are very pleased that with Simon Koschut we were able to attract a scholar to ZU who has proven expertise in international security policy and who will provide our students with new impulses and perspectives for understanding international politics,” said ZU President Professor Dr. Klaus Mühlhahn.

At the Chair of International Security Policy at ZU, Simon Koschut’s teaching and research will focus on understanding and managing global security threats. The focus is on the following thematic areas: international and regional security organizations, emotions and international conflict, and regional integration and global order. Currently, the professorship is funded by the Heisenberg Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG). With the Heisenberg Professorships, the DFG supports excellent scientists over a period of five years.