Professional Experience
University Professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck since October 1st, 2015. Specialisation on International Relations and Security in the post-Soviet region.
Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck from March 2003 till September 2015.
Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck 2000–2003
Scientific Adviser on Post-Soviet Affairs at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) from January 2009 till October 2015.
Permanent and Senior Research Fellow on Eastern Europe and the former USSR at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) in Vienna October 1991–June 2008.
November 2005 till October 2008 Program Head on behalf of the OIIP for the Final Phase of the OIIP/SAIS-Johns Hopkins University Project ‘Wider Europe’ (which had started back in November 2005).
Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna since 2004
Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna since 1995
Lecturer at the Department for European Integration at the Donau Universität Krems from 2012 till 2022.
Lecturer in the International Jean Monnet Summer School organised by the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence of the University of Trento (Italy) in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck
1989–1991 Junior Fellow at the Department for Political Science at the University of Innsbruck
Studies
Habilitation thesis on “Interne und externe Aspekte der (demokratischen) Regimeübergänge im östlichen Europa und im Post-Sowjetischen Raum” [“Internal and External Aspects of (democratic) regime change in Eastern Europe and in the Post-Soviet Region”]
2001 Ph.D. in Political Science, Dissertation on “Russland als defekte Demokratie. Beschränkungen liberal-rechtsstaatlicher Demokratie in Verfassungsrecht und Verfassungswirklichkeit Russlands” [Russia as a Defective Democracy: Limitations on liberal democracy in constitutional law and politics in Russia]
1989 MA in Political Science, Thesis on “Perestrojka – Wege zum Umbau der Sowjetunion” [Perestroika – How to Reform the Soviet Union?]
1984–1989 Studies in Political Science, History and Slavonics at the Universities of Innsbruck and Salzburg, special focus on Comparative Political Science (political systems of Eastern Europe and the USSR) and International Relations.
Faculty and University Tasks
Interim Head of the Doctoral Programme “Political Institutions and Leadership in a Contingent World” from March till December 2021.
Chairman of the Faculty Assembly of the Doctoral Programme “Political Institutions and Leadership in a Contingent World” June 2020-March 2021.
Deputy Head of the Studies Commission of the Faculty for Social and Political Sciences February 1st, 2017-September 30th, 2019. Member of the Commission since October 10th, 2019.
Dean of Studies at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology from February 1st, 2009 till February 28th, 2013.
Head of the Commission on Designing the Bologna-based new Studies at the Faculty for Political Science and Sociology, 2006-2010.
Programme Director of the BA in Political Science and the MA ‘European Politics and Society’, 2007-2009.
Member and Deputy Head of the Advisory Council of the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, 2006-2009.
Substitute member of the Senate of the University of Innsbruck 2016-
Reviewer for the ‘Economic and Social Research Council’ (ERSC), the ‘Volkswagenstiftung’, the ‘Jubiläumsfonds’ of the Austrian National Bank (OenB), the ‘Schweizerische Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung’, the journals ‘Geopolitics’, ‘ÖZP’ (Austrian Journal on Political Science), the Italian Political Science Review, Deutsche Stiftung für Friedensforschung etc.
Selected Memberships
Member of the Advisory Board of the “Osteuropazentrum” (Centre for Eastern Europe) at the University of Innsbruck since 2023.
Member of the Valdai Club since 2013 and the Valdai Club Academy since 2018. Both memberships ended in 2019.
Member of the editorial board of the journal The World Economy and International Relations of the Institute for the World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) at the Russian Academy of Sciences since November 2014.
2014-2021 Member of the Board of the “Austrian Service Abroad”.
Member of the Advisory Board of the ‘Österreichische Gesellschaft für Europapolitik‘ (Austrian Association for European Politics’) since 2007.
Member of the Advisory Board of the ‘Turkish Journal of Political Science” since 2017.
Member of the ‘International Advisory Board’ and the ‘Editorial Committee’ of ‘Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society‘ since 2007
Member of the Advisory Board of the ‘International Center for advanced and comparative EU-Russia/NIS research’ (ICEUR) in Vienna since 2008.
Member of the Advisory Council on the Black Sea Region for the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna since June 2010.
Member of the International Security Research Group (ISRG) since 2005.
Member of the Board of the “Austrian Political Science Association” (OeGPW) until 2005; Member of the Association 1987-2007.
Member of the Editorial Board of the “Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft” (OeZP)
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Turkish Journal of Political Science since 2018
Member of the Advisory Board of
Member of the Advisory Board of the Turkish journal The Journal of Security Strategies (Güvenlik Stratejileri Dergisi) seit 2023.
Former Member of the “Austrian Association for Foreign Policy” (ÖGA)
Frequent political consulting and briefings in Russian and international affairs for federal politicians and parties. Author of several classified papers on various topics for the Austrian federal executive and private companies.
Awards
The University of Applied Sciences in Vienna awarded me the title ‘Lecturer of the Year 2006’ in December 2006.
Austro Twitter Award for coverage of Russia in 2022.
I regularly teach at the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck, at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna and at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna. My main courses are on Russian post-Soviet politics (both domestic and external affairs), Theories of international relations, security studies and comparative politics.