Prof. Dr. Diana Panke has been Professor of International Relations since April 2024. She leads the Center of International Relations at the Otto Suhr Institute at Freie Universität Berlin. In addition, Prof. Panke serves as chairperson of the German Association for Political Science (Deutsche Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft, DVPW). 

Prof. Panke studied political science, public law and business administration at the University of Mannheim and received her doctorate in 2007 at Freie Universität Berlin. This was followed by positions at University College Dublin and the University of Freiburg, where she held the Chair for Governance in Multi-Level Systems. Prof. Panke spent research stays at the University of Gothenburg, FRIAS Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, University College Dublin, Beijing University and University of Denver. 

In research and teaching, Prof. Panke focuses on the comparative analysis of global or regional international organizations, regime complexity, international negotiations and small states in international relations, as well as explanatory research on international norms. In the training of students there is a particular focus on theory-driven, methodologically sound empirical analysis. 

Prof. Panke is the author of numerous publications. Most recently, she published “Comparing Regional Organizations. Global Dynamics and Regional Particularities” (Bristol University Press, with Sören Stapel and Anna Starkmann) and “Research Design and Method Selection: Making Good Choices in the Social Sciences” (SAGE). 

An extensive CV of Prof. Dr. Diana Panke including all publications can be found here.

Prof. Panke's research interests include:

• comparative analysis of global and regional organizations (IOs)
• regime complexity
• international norms
• international negotiations
• small states in international relations

 
Ongoing research projects

• "The withdrawal of states from regional organizations. A Comparative Analysis" (funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG))
• "Performances of Forest Governance of Regional Regimes - A Comprehensive Comparative Analysis" (joint project with Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmid (University of Freiburg), funded by the DFG)
• "The secret life-changes of norms: A comprehensive analysis of norm change" (together with Prof. Dr. Ulrich Petersohn (University of Liverpool) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

An overview of Prof. Panke's publications can be found in the curriculum vitae.