Associate Member

Jens Steffek

Projects and positions at the research center
Principal Investigator

Project management: Knowing the Rules and Acting Politically. Friedrich Kratochwil and his Critics | Research Focus 4 – Overstretched Orders: Global Governance between De- and Renationalization

Funding period 2012-2017
Project management: Legitimation through international law and legitimation of international law | Research field 3

Funding period 2007-2012
Project management: The justification narrative of “good functional governance” | Research field 3
Project management: Ambivalent universalization of democracy | Research field 3

Subject areas
Political science

Main research
Politics and history of international organizations, theory of international relations, transnational social actors, theory of democracy

  • Biografische Angaben

    Since 2023: Speaker of the DFG Research Training Group “Standards of Governance”

    2017-2019: Dean of the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences

    Since 2010: Professor of Transnational Governance at the Institute of Political Science

    2008-2009: University Lecturer in Political Science, Jacobs University Bremen

    2006-2007: Visiting Professor, International University Bremen

    2003-2008: Research Assistant (C1), University of Bremen

    2002-2003: Research assistant, University of Bremen

    2002: Doctorate in Social and Political Sciences, European University Institute, Florence

    2001-2002: Research Associate, Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, Florence

    1998: Magister Artium in Political Science, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

    Certified research assistant, Technical University of Munich

    1996-1998: Research Assistant, Foundation for Science and Politics, Ebenhausen

    1993-1998: Permanent freelancer, Süddeutsche Zeitung

    1991-1992: Civilian service, Bund Naturschutz in Bayern e.V.

    1991: Abitur, grammar school in Icking/Upper Bavaria

  • Publikationen

    Eine Liste der Publikationen von Jens Steffek finden Sie: Hier…

News from the research center

Event
28./29.05.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Global Health Justice: Principles and Practice

Conference

Following the research focus of the Global Health Justice Postdoctoral Programme, the "Global Health Justice: Principles and Practice" conference places a particular emphasis on themes such as the human right to health, political activism and health justice issues, and problems of structural injustice and vulnerable populations in health care. Keynote lectures by Jonathan Wolff, Kanchana Mahadevan, and Caesar Atuire.

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Publication
26.03.2026 | Monograph

The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective

Duve, Thomas; Herzog, Tamar (eds.): The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024 (portugiesisch 2025; spanisch 2026).

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Publication
26.03.2026 | Monograph

Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika

Duve, Thomas; Egío, José Luis  (2023): Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.

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Event
18.04.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Das Prinzip Donald Trump und die Verrohung der Welt

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Ein neuer Politikstil macht international Karriere. Er ist gekennzeichnet von Vulgarität, Verrohung und erklärter Rechtsfeindschaft. Machtinteressen werden nicht mehr juristisch bemäntelt. Stattdessen wird das angebliche Recht des Stärkeren zur Staatsdoktrin gemacht – innenpolitisch wie außenpolitisch. Treibende Kraft hinter dieser Verrohung der politischen Sitten ist ein US-Präsident, der nicht nur die amerikanische Gesellschaft und Kultur, sondern auch die globale Ordnung nach seinen Vorstellungen und Interessen umgestaltet. Die Römerberggespräche wollen diesen Politikstil verstehen.

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Event
14.07.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Democracy Over Time and the Climate Crisis

Lecture Series

Vortrag von Anja Karnein (Binghamton). Die Vortragsreihe untersucht Fragen der Klimakrise als Herausforderungen für demokratische Gesellschaften und konzentriert sich auf Themen wie politische Legitimität, Widerstand gegen fossile Brennstoffe und die Interessen künftiger Generationen. Sie wird organisiert von Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf und Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.

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Event
10.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Capital Investment, Inequality, and State Power in a Time of Climate Emergency

Lecture, Lecture Series

The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.

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Event
13.05.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Failed States and Cloudy skies: Tipping Points, Overshoot and Permanent Emergency, after America

Lecture Series

The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.

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Event
22.04.2026

Political Legitimacy, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change

Lecture, Lecture Series

Lecture by Ross Mittiga (SOAS London). The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests of future generations. It is organized by Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf and Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.

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Event
30.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Recht und Angst in Demokratien

Lecture
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