Welcome!

On these pages you can find information about me and my work & research.

I have studied politics, law and philosophy at the University of Hamburg and conducted research at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge and Sciences Po in Paris as a visiting fellow. Furthermore, I was Chercheur en Sciences Politiques at the European Court of Justice.

Currently, I am guest researcher (postdoc) at the ARENA Centre for European Studies in Oslo and Research Fellow at the Institute for European Integration at the University of Hamburg where I am working on a research project which deals with the role of law and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the European integration process. In this context, I am especially interested in the later works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and his philosophy of language which have remained relatively unregarded in political science. In connecting different scientific disciplines and linking Max Weber’s context notion with Wittgenstein’s thoughts on human rationality, I try to develop and apply an approach called “context rationality” which should contribute to a better understanding of law and its momentum for regional integration in Europe.

Furthermore, I am teaching as a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Hamburg and the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg. Here I also employ different and innovative teaching methods, such as Peer Instruction and Just-In-Time Teaching (JiTT).

Beyond that, since 2006, I am managing director and scientific consultant at the Gemeinschaft für Politikberatung (gpb), which provides information and support services in various scientific and political fields through its team of young university professionals. The objectives of the gpb are to bring in academic expertise into politics and to serve as a forum facilitating communication between science and political practice.

Recent Publications

Europäische Integration im Kontext des Rechts, 2013, Springer VS: Wiesbaden (401 pages) ISBN: 978-3-531-18535-4	Politische Theorien der Europäischen Integration. Ein Lehr- und Textbuch, 2009, VS Verlag: Wiesbaden (388 pages, together with Jakobeit, Cord) (eds.) ISBN: 978-3-531-15661-3 [REVIEWS]	Vietnam – Natur, Wirtschaft, Geschichte, Gesellschaft und Politik, 2012, Peter-Lang Verlag: New York, Oxford, Wien (197 pages, together with Giang, Susanne My and Grimmel, Eckhard) ISBN: 978-3-631-60447-2
Judicial Interpretation or Judicial Activism?: The Legacy of Rationalism in the Studies of the European Court of Justice. In: European Law Journal, 2012, 18/4, 518-535	Integration and the Context of Law: Why the European Court of Justice is not a Political Actor. In: Les cahiers européens de Sciences Po, n° 03/2011	Wahlen mit System? Reformüberlegungen zur personalisierten Verhältniswahl. In: Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen, 3/2007, 575-586 (together with Franke, Heiko)