GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Germany (GIGA)

Website: www.giga-hamburg.de/

GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies is the biggest research institute for area studies and comparative area studies in Germany, and one of the biggest in Europe. Their research focuses on political, economic and social developments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East. GIGA researchers also concentrate on inter-regional linkages and global themes.

Thomas Richter

Thomas Richter

Thomas Richter is a senior research fellow at the GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies in Hamburg, Germany. He is the speaker of the research team “Persistence and Change in Non-democratic Regimes”, which is part of the GIGA research program 1 “Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems”. His current main interests relate to the survival and breakdown of authoritarian regimes and the determinants of trade and capital account liberalization among developing countries. Thomas most recent publications have appeared in Politische Vierteljahresschrift, Review of International Political Economy, European Political Science Review and Democratization.
Christian von Soest

Christian von Soest

Christian von Soestis a senior research fellow at the GIGA Institute of African Affairs in Hamburg, Germany, and member of the GIGA Office Berlin. He is the speaker of the research team “International Sanctions”, which contributes to the GIGA research program 2 “Violence and Security”. His head of the research projects "Persistence and Change of Neopatrimonialism in various Non-OECD Regions" and "Ineffective Sanctions? External Sanctions and the Persistence of Autocratic Regimes". Christian’s main research interests are the interrelationship of neopatrimonialism / corruption with different political regimes and comparative research on sanctions and other international influences on authoritarian regimes.

Jana Warkotsch

Jana Warkotsch

Jana Warkotsch joined the GIGA as a scientific coordinator for the ANTICORRP project in October 2014. Looking at four countries in North Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa the GIGA’s contribution to WP8 explores the impact of EU assistance on governance and particularly anti-corruption in recipient countries. Prior to joining ANTICORRP, Jana studied the conditions for protest mobilization in authoritarian regimes during her PhD at the European University Institute (EUI), with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa. She has worked as an Academic Assistant for the EU funded project “Mobilizing for Democracy” at the EUI and as a consultant for the UNHCR, GIGA, and BMZ on various topics such as corruption in Egypt, Islamism in North Africa, and the political situation in Yemen. Her main research interests are authoritarianism, regime change and persistence, as well as social movements. Her regional expertise is on the MENA, particularly Egypt and Tunisia.