David Kuehn

Dr. David Kuehn is a Senior Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Institute for Asian Studies and Coordinator of the GIGA Forum. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Heidelberg University, where his dissertation focused on institutionalizing civilian control of the military in new democracies. His academic career includes senior research roles at Heidelberg University (2015-2019) and ongoing positions at GIGA since 2018.

• MA in Political Science and Modern Chinese Studies from Heidelberg University, Chinese Culture University, and Chinese National Normal University Taipei
• PhD in Political Science from Heidelberg University

Dr. Kuehn's research centers on civil-military relations, democratization, authoritarianism, and comparative research methods. His work explores how militaries influence democratic transitions, the personalization of executive power during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the interplay between military behavior and political stability in Asia and Latin America.

Recent publications include analyses of the 2024 South Korean self-coup, military roles in pandemic responses, and methodological critiques of quantitative/qualitative divides. He contributes to debates on executive power centralization in the Global South and has authored a 2023 book Routes to Reform: Civil-Military Relations and Democracy in the Third Wave, awarded the Giuseppe Caforio ERGOMAS Award in 2024.

• Giuseppe Caforio ERGOMAS Award (2024)
• Best C&M Working Paper Award (2011)

Dr. Kuehn collaborates with researchers from the University of Passau, Heidelberg University, and the Volkswagen Foundation. His teaching includes courses on game-theoretic models, qualitative comparative analysis, and democratic military control at Heidelberg University and ETH Zurich's Swiss Military Academy. He served as coordinator for the ERGOMAS working group on civilian military control (2009-2019) and editor for the journal Democratization's book review section since 2013.