معرفی
PD Dr. Philipp Köker is an Academic Councillor (Akademischer Rat a. Z.) at the Institute of Political Science within the Faculty of Humanities at Leibniz Universität Hannover. He has completed his habilitation in Political Science (June 2024) and is currently serving as a Professor pro tempore for the Political System of Germany and the EU at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg during the 2025/26 academic year. His academic journey includes positions at University College London and Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK, where he specialized in comparative politics and presidential systems.
Dr. Köker earned his PhD in Political Science from University College London (2010-2015), where he won the ECPR Jean Blondel PhD Prize 2016 for his thesis 'Veto et Peto: Patterns of Presidential Activism in Central and Eastern Europe.' He also holds an MA with distinction in Politics, Security and Integration from UCL (2009-2010) and a BA in Political Science from Universität Mannheim (2006-2009). His Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) from Canterbury Christ Church University (2017-2018) further solidified his teaching credentials.
Dr. Köker's research focuses on presidential politics across democratic and authoritarian regimes, comparative political institutions, electoral processes and candidates, Central and Eastern European politics, and gender studies within institutional frameworks. His work demonstrates particular expertise in how presidents exercise power, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, and how political institutions evolve in response to changing political environments. He has made significant contributions to understanding gender representation in political systems and the impact of social media on political discourse.
His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward examining how political institutions function under stress, particularly focusing on judicial independence in the face of populist challenges, gender representation in state honors systems, and presidential behavior in both democratic and authoritarian contexts. His work bridges traditional political science with contemporary issues like social media's impact on political communication and the challenges to democratic norms.
Dr. Köker received the ECPR Jean Blondel PhD Prize in 2016 for his dissertation on presidential activism in Central and Eastern Europe. His research has been supported by significant grants, most notably the €507,800 VW Stiftung/MWK Niedersachsen grant for the 'Courts Under Pressure' project (2021-2024), which examined how social media changes political discourse about the rule of law in modern democracies.
As an active media commentator, Dr. Köker has advised numerous political parties and governments on electoral systems and institutional design. He has served on the Promotionskommission der Philosophischen Fakultät and represented scientific staff at Leibniz Universität Hannover. His research has been funded by prestigious organizations including the EU FP7 ANTICORRP Project and the Jean Monnet Centre for European Studies.
Dr. Köker co-leads the 'Courts Under Pressure' research project examining elite discourses on high courts in Germany, the UK, Poland and Estonia. His work with the Presidential Power Blog has established him as a leading expert on comparative presidential systems, and he has developed innovative teaching approaches to student publishing in social sciences through his textbook 'Studentisches Publizieren in den Sozialwissenschaften.'
