Thomas Risse

Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse is a Senior Professor at the Excellence Cluster “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)” at Freie Universität Berlin. He was previously Professor of International Politics and Director of the Office for Transnational Relations, Foreign and Security Policy at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science until early 2022. His academic career spans prestigious institutions including the European University Institute in Florence, Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

• Freie Universität Berlin – Senior Professor, Excellence Cluster SCRIPTS
• European University Institute, Florence – Professor of International Relations (1997–2001)
• University of Konstanz, Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Hebrew University – Visiting and research positions

His research centers on international norms, governance in limited statehood, human rights, and transnational public spheres. He explores how international norms are translated across cultural and political contexts, particularly in the Global South, and investigates the resilience and transformation of the liberal international order. His work integrates constructivist theory, norm diffusion, and political sociology.

The recent publications highlight a consistent focus on governance beyond the state, normative change, and the future of liberal democracy. His projects analyze how institutions, legitimacy, and social trust function in areas with weak statehood, and how global norms are adapted locally. The integration of computer-assisted text analysis in recent work signals methodological innovation in studying norm translation.

Scientific awards include:

• Max-Planck-Forschungspreis für internationale Kooperation (2003)
• Juan-Linz Preis der International Political Science Association (2021)

Prof. Risse has held significant academic leadership roles, including Dean of the Department of Political and Social Sciences (2019–2021), spokesperson for the DFG Collaborative Research Center 700 on Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood (2006–2017), and co-director of the DFG Research Training Group on “The Transformative Power of Europe” (2008–2018). He has advised major research organizations as a member of the DFG Senate, the scientific advisory board of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, and the presidency of the German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP). He currently leads the Berlin Center for Research and Graduate Training (BIRT) and the Berlin Graduate School for Global and Transregional Studies (BGTS) within the SCRIPTS cluster.

He leads the Reinhart-Koselleck Project on The Translation of International Norms between Global and Local Arenas, funded by the DFG, focusing on human rights and climate change norms in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.