Professorship of the Cluster of Excellence – International Organizations

Prof. Dr. Christopher Daase

Research program

The newly created professorship for International Organizations is dedicated to the comparative study of norm production in international organizations in the field of tension between politics and law. The research work analyzes both the pacifying and the conflictual aspects of these norm-building processes. During its first term, the professorship’s research program focused on the general topic of “Legality and Legitimacy in International Relations” and was divided into four research fields:

A. Informalization in international politics
B. Global governance of liberal democracies
C. Security culture and risk politics
D. Peace missions and transitional justice

Research Area A examined the question of whether the heroic age of international organizations is over and whether the trend towards informal cooperation, which takes place outside of established organizations and aims at agreements that are not legally binding, is continuing. Based on case studies of the G8/G20, the Proliferation Security Initiative and similar informal institutions, the causes and consequences of informalization were examined and the normative question posed as to whether informality not only undermines traditional institutional processes of legitimacy and accountability, but also opens up new possibilities for political deliberation and participation.
Research area B was dedicated to the ambivalent role of liberal democracies in shaping the current world order – as actors promoting peace and cooperation on the one hand, and as forces of order acting violently on the other. On the one hand, this involved the justification of liberal global governance and the problematic privileging of liberal democracies in the name of a “democratic peace”, and on the other, the institutional policy of Western democracies in the shaping of global global governance forums. The study focused on processes of hierarchization in the international system, which are accompanied by conflicts both between the Western hegemon USA and other liberal democracies as well as conflicts between democracies and non-democracies.
Research field C examined the practical and normative challenges of practical security policy. In view of new threats and risks, security policy is called upon to take more preventive and precautionary action. On the one hand, this increases the uncertainty under which decisions are made and, on the other, the probability of unintended consequences of risk governance. The projects in this research field investigate the causes and consequences of this security policy paradigm shift.
Finally, research field D focuses on the establishment of peace regimes following violent conflicts within the spectrum of peacekeeping, peacebuilding and transitional justice. The projects in this research field investigated how instruments of transitional justice (tribunals, truth commissions, apologies, etc.) on the one hand, and reforms of the security and justice systems on the other, can help to overcome the experiences and legacies of war and tyranny.

Results

Extensive conceptual and empirical preliminary work for a theory of informalization in international politics has been carried out in research field A. It has been shown that informalization is a rational reform strategy when formal institutions and organizations are resistant to reform. Using the example of the G8 and G20, it was also shown that informal institutions can help to peacefully shape power shifts in the international system. The normative implications of informalization are to be investigated more intensively following this term and could also form an interesting focus in the second round of the Cluster of Excellence.
Research field B has produced numerous publications on the world wars of liberal democracies, which show that the theorem of “democratic peace” also served as a justification narrative for violent democratization. The resulting conflicts between democracies (especially between the EU and the USA) are the subject of a larger study, which shows that European decisions for or against non-hegemonic regimes are not only determined by cost-benefit calculations, but also by procedural fairness standards and compliance with the norms of the transatlantic security community.
In research field C, studies have emerged that show that proactive security policy has a tendency to break traditional peace and freedom standards and that risk policy has considerable unintended consequences. The refocusing of security policy on human security plays an important role here. The conceptual-historical analysis of the expansion of the understanding of security shows that with the focus on security, the traditional focus of international politics on peace between states is giving way to an individualistic conception of human security. The implications of this change in security culture are the subject of an additionally acquired third-party funded project.
In addition to analyses of security sector reform in peace missions, a project dealing with apologies in international politics is nearing completion in research field D. In addition to tribunals and truth commissions, public political apologies have become increasingly important in reconciliation processes in recent years. On the basis of 17 case studies, the linguistic codes and political practices of inter-state apologies are reconstructed and examined for their effectiveness. It is shown that political norms for dealing with non-justiciable collective guilt are developing alongside and parallel to the establishment of criminal law standards of individual guilt in international law. In this way, historical guilt and responsibility are reconceptualized and shape cultural memory as well as current politics.

The formation and change of normative orders was therefore at the center of all the projects outlined here. The question of the legitimacy of informal institutions was linked to considerations on the “new diplomacy” in the cluster application and at the same time problematized the loss of traditional procedures of legitimation. There is no question that informalization is changing the normative order of international politics, but how this change is to be assessed normatively remains open for the time being. The tendencies towards hierarchization and stratification of the international system, which are expressed in violent democratization and a militarized human rights policy, are particularly problematic or at least ambivalent. This aspect of “rule in global politics” will be examined more closely in the second phase of the Cluster of Excellence. These changes will become particularly concrete in the area of security policy, in which the basic norms of international relations (sovereignty, non-intervention, etc.) will be redefined and the transition from an international peace order to a global security order will be negotiated. The reconceptualization of international guilt and responsibility should also be seen in this context, whereby individual, collective and institutional responsibilities are redistributed.

Central results of the work carried out at the professorship can be found in the reports on the research projects “Democratic Peace as a Justification Narrative”, “Hierarchy and Hegemony in Global Governance”, “Peace Missions and Security Sector Reform”.

Publications:
*Daase, Christopher/Rauer, Valentin/Offermann, Philipp (eds.) (2012): Security culture. Social and political practices of security Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag.
Daase, Christoher/Meier, Oliver (eds.) (2012): Arms Control in the 21st Century: Towards a New Paradigm?, London: Routledge;
*Daase, Christopher (2012): “Die Historisierung der Sicherheit. Notes on historical security research from a political science perspective”, in: Geschichte und Gesellschaft 38(3), 387-405
*Daase, Christopher/Nullmeier, Frank/Geis, Anna (2012): “Der Aufstieg der Legitimitätspolitik. Rechtfertigung und Kritik politisch-ökonomischer Ordnungen”, in: Der Aufstieg der Legitimitätspolitik(Leviathan Sonderband Nr. 27), 11-38.
*Daase, Christopher/Junk, Julian (2012): “Strategische Kultur und Sicherheitsstrategien in Deutschland”, in: S+F Sicherheit und Frieden 30(3), 152-157.
Daase, Christopher (2012): “Netzwerke der Gewalt”, in: World Views. Magazine for global development and ecumenical cooperation 10, 13-17.
*Daase, Christopher/Junk, Julian (2012): “Netzwerke der Sicherheit. Überlegungen zum Umbau demokratischer Sicherheitspolitik”, in: S+F Sicherheit und Frieden 30(2), 94-100.
*Daase, Christopher 2012: “Coercion and the Informalization of Arms Control”, in: Meier, Oliver/Daase, Christopher (eds.), Arms Control in the 21st Century. Between Coercion and Cooperation London: Routledge, 67-78.
*Daase, Christopher (2012): “Introduction”, in: Meier, Oliver/Daase, Christopher (eds.), Arms Control in the 21st Century. Between Coercion and Cooperation London: Routledge, 3-11.
*Daase, Christopher (2012): “The Changing Nature of Arms Control and the Role of Coercion”, in: Meier, Oliver/Daase, Christopher (eds.), Arms Control in the 21st Century. Between Coercion and Cooperation London: Routledge, 233-241.
Daase, Christopher (2012): “Globalisierung und politische Gewalt. Entwicklungen seit dem Ende des Ost-West-Konflikts”, in: Schoch, Bruno et al. (eds.), Friedensgutachten 2012, Münster: Lit, 60-73.
Daase, Christopher (2012): “Sicherheitskultur als interdisziplinäres Forschungsprogramm”, in: Christopher Daase/ Philipp Offermann/ Valentin Rauer (eds.), Security culture. Social and political practices of security Frankfurt/New York: Campus, 23-44.
Daase, Christopher (2012): “Die Konstruktion normativer Singularität – zu Entstehung und Wandel des nuklearen Tabu”, in: Eisenbart, Constanze (ed.), Das Ende des Atomzeitalters?, Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, pp.185-206.
Daase, Christopher (2012): ‘Risk and the Illusion of Predictability’, in: Journal of Political Science 21(3), 79-85.
Daase, Christopher (2011): Just Peace Governance. The Research Program of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Working Papers of the HSFK, No. 1, 2011.
Daase, Christopher (2011): “Sicherheit schlägt Frieden. Zum normativen Wandel in der Weltpolitik”, in: Polar – Politik, Theorie, Alltag, 11, 81-89.
*Daase, Christopher/Junk, Julian (2011): “Problemorientierung und Methodenpluralismus in den IB. Ein Plädoyer für methodischen Nonkonformismus”, in: Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 18(2), 123-136.
*Daase, Christopher (2011): “”Just Peace Governance” – Auf dem Weg zu einem neuen Forschungsprogramm”, in: Baumgart-Ochse, Claudia/Schörnig, Niklas/Wisotzki, Simone/Wolff, Jonas (eds.): On the way to Just Peace Governance. Contributions to the launch of the HSFK’s new research program , Baden-Baden, 17-26.
*Daase, Christopher (2011): “Sicherheitskultur. Ein Konzept zur interdisziplinären Erforschung politischen und sozialen Wandels”, in: S+F Vierteljahresschrift für Sicherheit und Frieden, 29(2), 59-65.
*Daase, Christopher/Offermann, Philipp (2011): “Subkulturen der Sicherheit. Die Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz und die Münchner Friedenskonferenz im Vergleich”, in: S+F Vierteljahresschrift für Sicherheit und Frieden, 29(2), 84-89.
Daase, Christopher 2011: Keywords “Frieden (Sicherheit)” and “Terror (Terrorismus)” in: Hartmann, Martin/ Offe, Claus (eds.), Political Theory and Political Philosophy. A handbook Munich: C.H. Beck Verlag, 188-192, 317-320.
Daase, Christopher (2011): ‘Der Wandel der Sicherheitskultur. Causes and consequences of the expanded concept of security”, in: Zoche, Peter/ Kaufmann, Stefan/ Haverkamp, Rita (eds.), Civil security. Social dimensions of current security policy Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 139-158.
Daase, Christopher/Spencer, Alexander (2011): “Stand und Perspektiven der politikwissenschaftlichen Terrorismusforschung”, in: Spencer, Alexander/ Kocks, Alexander/ Harbrich, Kai (eds.), Terrorismusforschung in Deutschland, Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag, 25-47 (special issue 1/2011 of the Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik).
Daase, Christopher (2011): ’60 Jahre Integration: EU, NATO und OSZE. Zur variablen Geometrie sicherheitspolitischer Kooperation”, in: Kadelbach, Stefan (ed.), 60 Jahre Integration in Europa: Variable Geometrien und politische Verflechtung jenseits der EU, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 37-52.
Daase, Christopher (2011): ‘Neue Kriege und neue Kriegführung als Herausfoderungen für die Friedenspolitik’, in: Werkner, Ines-Jacqueline/ Kronfeld-Goharani, Ulrike (eds.), The ambivalent peace. Peace research faces new challenges Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag, 21-35.
*Benedek, Wolfgang/Daase, Christopher/Dimitrijevic, Vojin/van Duyne, Petrus (eds.) (2010): Transnational Terrorism, Organized Crime and Peace-Building. The State of the Art in Human Security in the Western Balkans, London: Palgrave Macmillan 2010.
Daase, Christopher (2010): “Die Englische Schule”, in: Schieder, Siegfried/ Spindler, Manuela (eds.), Theorien der Internationalen Beziehungen, 3rd ed., Verlag Barbara Budrich UTB, 255-280.
*Daase, Christopher/Friesendorf, Cornelius (eds.) (2010): Rethinking Security Governance. The Problem of Unintended Consequences London/ New York: Routledge.
Daase, Christopher (2010): “Wandel der Sicherheitskultur”, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 50/2010, 9-16.
*Daase, Christopher (2010): Addressing Painful Memories: Apologies as a New Practice in International Relations, in: Assmann, Aleida/ Conrad, Sebastian (eds.), Memory in a Global Age. Discourses, Practices and Trajectories , Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 19-31.
*Daase, Christopher (2010): “National, Societal, and Human Security: On the Transformation of Political Language”, in: Historical Social Research 35(4), 22-37.
Daase, Christopher (2010): “Theorie der Internationalen Beziehungen”, in: Gerlach, Irene/ Jesse, Eckhard/ Kneuer, Marianne/ Werz, Nicolaus, (eds.), Political Science in Germany. Status and perspectives Baden-Baden: Nomos, 317-338.
*Daase, Christopher (2010): “Organized Crime and Terrorism. One or Two Challenges?”, in: Benedek, Wolfgang/ Daase, Christopher/ Dimitrijevic, Vojin/ van Duyne, Petrus (eds.), Transnational Terrorism, Organized Crime and Peace-Building. The State of the Art in Human Security in the Western Balkans London: Palgrave Macmillan, 67-78.
*Daase, Christopher 2010: “Introduction: Security Governance and the Problem of Unintended Consequences”, in: Christopher Daase/ Cornelius Friesendorf (eds.), Rethinking Security Governance. The Problem of Unintended Consequences London/ New York: Routledge, 1-20.
*Daase, Christopher (2010): “Conclusion: Analyzing and Avoiding Unintended Consequences of Security Governance”, in: Christopher Daase/ Cornelius Friesendorf (eds.), Rethinking Security Governance. The Problem of Unintended Consequences , London/ New York: Routledge, 198-213.
Daase, Christopher (2010): “Terrorismus”, in: Masala, Carlo/ Wilhelm, Peter (eds.), Handbuch der internationalen Politik, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 383-405 (with Alexander Spencer).
*Daase, Christopher/Schnidler, Sebastian (2009): “Clausewitz, Guerillakrieg und Terrorismus. Zur Aktualität einer missverstandenen Kriegstheorie”, in: Politische Vierteljahresschrift 50(4), 701-731.
Daase, Christopher (2009): “The ILC and Informalization”, in: Georg Nolte (ed.), Peace through International Law. The Role of the International Law Commission. A Colloquium at the Occasion of its Sixtieth Anniversary Heidelberg: Springer, 179-183.
*Daase, Christopher (2009): “Die Informalisierung internationaler Politik – Beobachtungen zum Stand der internationalen Organisation”, in: Klaus Dingwerth, Dieter Kerwer and Andreas Nölke (eds.), Die Organisierte Welt: Internationale Beziehungen und Organisationsforschung, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 290-308.
Daase, Christopher (2009): ‘Demokratie und ethnische Säuberungen? Kritische Anmerkungen zu Michael Mann”, in: Backes, Uwe/Jesse, Ekkart (eds.), Extremismus und Demokratie, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 302-308.
Daase, Christopher (2009): ‘Terrorist Groups and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Risk Assessment and Counterstrategies’, in Franz Eder/Martin Senn (eds.), Europe and Transnational Terrorism. Assessing Threats and Countermeasures Baden-Baden: Nomos, 59-74.
Daase, Christopher (2009): “Der erweiterte Sicherheitsbegriff”, in: Mir A. Ferdowsi (ed.), Internationale Politik als Überlebensstrategie, München: Bayerische Landeszentrale für politische Bildungsarbeit, 137-153.