Sabine Kurtenbach

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach is the current President (ad interim) of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), a leading Leibniz research institute. Previously, she served as Acting Director of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies and holds an honorary professorship at Philipps-University Marburg. Her research focuses on postwar societies, peacebuilding, security policies, and youth violence, with regional expertise in Central America and Colombia. She has led major projects analyzing conflict dynamics in Colombia and Syria during the pandemic and contributed to initiatives like the Leibniz Research Network on Environmental Crises.

• Education: PhD in Political Science (University of Hamburg, 1991), studies in Political Science, Spanish, and Contemporary History across Madrid, Erlangen, Sevilla, and Hamburg.
• Key Roles: Senior Researcher at GIGA since 1993; consultant for German foreign and development ministries; co-leader of Latin American Studies (2023–2024).

Research Interests: Her work bridges theory and practice, addressing societal fractures post-conflict, security sector reforms, and the interplay between war economies and peacebuilding. Recent projects emphasize feminist perspectives in SSR and subnational violence dynamics.

Publications: Recent works include analyses of Germany-Latin America partnerships, variations of peace in Colombia, and Venezuela’s crisis. She contributes to policy dialogues through media interviews and workshops on drug trafficking and regional geopolitics.

Teaching: Taught courses on Latin American violence, peace studies, and conflict causes at universities in Hamburg and Marburg. Engages in academic exchange programs, such as a 2024 seminar on Latin American Studies’ relevance at the University of Oxford.