Mariel Reiss

Mariel Reiss is a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Conflict Research at Philipps University of Marburg, where she serves as Acting Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies and Co-Speaker of the DVPW Thematic Group Queer-Feminist Political Science and LGBTIQ+ Studies. Her work focuses on the intersection of regional governance systems and human rights, particularly concerning LGBTIQ+ communities in Africa.

Dr. Reiss holds a Magistra Artium (BA & MA) in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology from Gutenberg University Mainz and Uppsala University, and completed her PhD at Philipps University Marburg. Her academic journey includes extensive research stays across Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia, providing deep regional expertise.

Her research interests center on regional and international organizations, multi-level governance systems, and human rights with specific expertise in LGBTIQ+ rights and norms discourses in African contexts. She critically examines how international relations theories and diffusion approaches apply to Eastern and Southern Africa, particularly within the East African Community, Southern African Development Community, and African Union frameworks. Her work challenges the narrative of LGBTIQ+ identities as 'un-African' through rigorous analysis of colonial legacies and contemporary governance structures.

Dr. Reiss's publication record reveals a consistent focus on African regionalism, with particular attention to how LGBTIQ+ rights are negotiated within multilevel governance systems. Her recent scholarship shows increasing engagement with the African human rights architecture, examining how regional organizations become contested spaces for human rights advocacy. A notable trend is her interdisciplinary approach combining political science, gender studies, and human rights frameworks to analyze complex governance challenges in Africa.

• DFG funded Scientific Network 'Re-centering African Subjects and Subjectivities' (2024-2026)
• HMWK funded Research Project 'LGBTIQ+ Rights in Multilevel Governance Systems' (2021-2022)
• Erasmus+ cooperation between Philipps University Marburg and multiple African institutions

Dr. Reiss actively mentors emerging scholars through her teaching of courses like 'Global Contestations of LGBTIQ+ Identities' and 'Multilevel Governance Systems in Africa.' Her leadership extends to the TABAKA film project, which addresses simplified portrayals of LGBTQ+ identities in Kenya, and the Pretoria-Marburg Queer Conversations series, fostering scholarly and activist dialogue on LGBTIQ+ lived realities in Africa.