Aurel Croissant

Prof. Aurel Croissant is a Professor of Political Science at Heidelberg University's Institute of Political Science. His research focuses on comparative democracy, authoritarianism, civil-military relations, and political systems in Asia-Pacific. He holds editorial roles at journals like Democratization and has authored/co-authored over 300 publications. Key works include Democratic Regressions in Asia and Routes to Reform: Civil-Military Relations and Democracy in the Third Wave. He has been a Fellow at institutions such as the East West Center and the National Endowment for Democracy. His team includes doctoral candidates like Nikitas Scheeder. He advises on democratic resilience, autocratization, and regional governance, contributing to projects like the Bertelsmann Transformation Index and Sustainable Governance Indicators.

Education: MA (1996), PhD (2001) from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz; postdoctoral work at Heidelberg University. Tenure-track Assistant Professor (2004) at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, before joining Heidelberg in 2006.

Research Interests: Civil-military relations, democratization, authoritarianism, Asian politics, conflict studies.

Notable Publications (2020–2025): Explores pandemic governance (Democracy, State Capacity and the Governance of COVID-19 in Asia-Oceania), democratic resilience, and regional militarization trends. Recent works analyze South Korea's democratic resilience, autocratization patterns in Asia, and military roles in authoritarian regimes.

Awards & Fellowships: Recognized as a Fellow by the East West Center, Korea Foundation, and others. Editorships of journals and book series, including Democratization Special Issues Series.