Wolfgang Zellner

Wolfgang Zellner is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) at the University of Hamburg, where he has served since 1994. He held the position of Deputy Director from 2005 and currently leads the Centre for OSCE Research (CORE), while also co-founding the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions to foster international security dialogue.

Zellner earned a diploma in sociology from the University of Regensburg and a Ph.D. in political sciences from Freie Universität Berlin, completing his summa cum laude dissertation on conventional arms forces negotiations in Europe with emphasis on Germany's role. Prior to IFSH, he advised a German Bundestag member on security policy and arms control (1984-1991).

His three-decade research portfolio centers on European cooperative security orders, OSCE mechanisms, and conventional arms control (CFE Treaty, Vienna Document). Key expertise includes risk reduction in NATO-Russia contact zones, regulation of unresolved conflicts (Moldova, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh), Ukraine conflict analysis, and ethno-political conflict prevention via OSCE frameworks. Current work examines European security alternatives amid global hegemonic shifts and international system fragility.

Zellner's publications (2009-2019) reveal consistent focus on arms control architecture, societal security challenges, and OSCE threat perceptions. Collaborative works like the 2018/2019 NATO-Russia risk reduction study and 2017 Georgian security analysis demonstrate his emphasis on practical conflict mitigation through status-neutral frameworks and confidence-building measures, often involving multi-institutional networks across the OSCE region.

As head of CORE and co-founder of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks, Zellner directs critical academic initiatives that bridge research and policy, facilitating transnational collaboration among 30+ institutions to address evolving European security dilemmas through dialogue and evidence-based analysis.