Matthew D. Stephen

Dr. Matthew D. Stephen is a Professor of International Political Economy at Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg. He previously held interim professorships in International Relations and served as a Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute. His research focuses on global governance, rising powers, and international political economy, with a particular emphasis on China's influence and multilateral institutions.

Stephen earned his doctorate from the Free University of Berlin (2013), where his dissertation explored pivotal rising powers and global governance. He has conducted research at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, the University of Sydney, and the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.

His work includes analyzing China's bid for global hegemony through new multilateral institutions, the representation of emerging powers in international organizations, and the fragmentation of global trade governance. He leads the DFG Heisenberg Project on China-led institutions and has published extensively in journals like Security Studies, International Studies Quarterly, and International Studies Review.

Stephen’s research highlights trends in global power shifts, institutional legitimacy, and the evolving role of non-Western actors in shaping international order. His interdisciplinary approach bridges political economy, institutional analysis, and historical materialism.