Melanie Sauter

Prof. Melanie Sauter holds the Chair of Political Science, Analytical International Politics within the Social Sciences department. Her research focuses on peace and conflict studies, particularly the micro-dynamics of political violence and the role of humanitarian organizations and peacekeepers in armed conflicts. She currently investigates the climate-conflict-peacebuilding nexus, analyzing how peacebuilding communities in the Sahel and East Africa address climate-related threats exacerbating communal conflicts. Her book project explores how humanitarian aid workers signal neutrality during conflicts. Methodologically, she combines causal modeling of spatial conflict data and satellite imagery with qualitative approaches like process tracing and fieldwork interviews. Her team focuses on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of political science, climate science, and humanitarian action.