Christian Gläßel is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for International Security, working with Anita Gohdes, Professor of International and Cyber Security. Christian received his PhD from the Mannheim Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences. Before joining the Hertie School, he was a lecturer at the University of Mannheim as well as a research associate in the ERC project "Repression and the Escalation of Violence" and the Collaborative Research Center "Political Economy of Reforms". From April to September 2022, he is substituting Nils-Christian Bormann as Professor of International Political Studies at Witten/Herdecke University.
In his research, Christian investigates how authoritarian regimes work and why they fail. He systematically analyzes both the production and the (unintended) outcomes of state repression and propaganda. In his current book project, Christian studies the inner workings of the authoritarian security apparatus and the career trajectories of those who serve within it. His research sheds light on questions such as: How do dictators make their subordinates terrorize entire ordinary citizens? Under what conditions turn officers against their political leaders? Does media censorship prevent public resistance? And what is the human rights toll of international sports events hosted by authoritarian regimes?
