Dr. Sören Stapel joined the Center for International Relations in April 2024.  

Dr. Stapel studied political science at Freie Universität Berlin and Université de Montréal with a specialization in International Relations and Comparative Regionalism. Previously, he was a research associate at the Research College (KFG) “The Transformative Power of Europe?” and the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700 “Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood” at Freie Universität Berlin. In 2016, he defended his PhD thesis on diffusion processes between regional organizations in the area of democracy, human rights, and rule of law promotion and protection (summa cum laude). Afterwards, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Global Studies at the University of Gothenburg in the project “External Funding of Regional Organizations in Africa – What works, and why?“ (EFRO), funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR), and led the project “Overlapping Regionalism in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe Compared” between 2019 and 2023, which is funded by the German Research Council (DFG). He served as the interim Chair for International Organizations and Globalization at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in the academic year 2018-19 and as the interim Chair for Governance in Multilevel Systems at Freiburg University during summer term 2023. 

Between 2018 and 2021, Dr. Stapel served as a co-spokesperson of Standing Group on European Studies and Comparative Regionalism (AKER) of the German Political Science Association (DVPW). Previously, he was one of the coordinators of the DVPW’s thematic group on comparative regionalism between 2015 and 2018. 

Research interests 

• international organizations and global governance 
• comparative regionalism  
• norm and policy diffusion 
• overlapping regionalism and regime complexity 
• financing of international and regional organizations 
• democracy, human rights and the rule of law 
• development policy  
• regional focus: Europe, Africa 

Monographs 

• Sören Stapel (2022): Regional Organizations and Democracy, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law: The African Union, Organization of Americas States, and the Diffusion of Institutions. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel, Anna Starkmann (2020): Comparing Regional Organizations: Global Dynamics and Regional Particularities. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

Articles (with peer review) 

• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2024): Cooperation between International Organizations: Demands, Supply and Restraint. Review of International Organizations. 19(2): 269-305.
• Sören Stapel, Diana Panke, Frederik Söderbaum (2023): Regional International Organizations in Africa as Recipients of Foreign Aid: Why Are Some More Attractive to Donors than Others?. Cooperation and Conflict, 58(4): 521-544.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2023): Towards Increasing Regime Complexity? Why Member States Drive Overlaps between International Organizations. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 25(4): 633-654.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2023): Overlapping regionalism around the world: Introducing the overlapping regionalism dataset. International Area Studies Review, 26(4):449-463.
• Sören Stapel, Fredrik Söderbaum (2023): European foreign aid to regional organisations in Africa: bullies, overseers, micromanagers and samaritans. Third World Quarterly, 44(8): 1699-1717.
• Mathis Lohaus, Sören Stapel (2023): Who commits to regional human rights treaties? Reputational benefits, sovereignty costs, and regional dynamics. Journal of Human Rights, 22(3): 386-405.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel, Sally Wennergren (2023): 'Something to everyone': Ownership as a moving target in Swedish and British regional foreign aid to Africa. Development Policy Review, 41(4): e12684.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2023): Navigating Regional Regime Complexity: How and why does the European cooperate with regional organizations?. Politics & Governance, 11(2): 97-108.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2022): Architects of Regional Regime Complexity: States and Regional Organizations in Europe. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 30(3): 387-404.
• Ingo Henneberg, Sören Stapel (2020): Cooperation and Conflict at the Horn of Africa: A New Regional Bloc Between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia and Its Consequences for Eastern Africa. Africa Spectrum, 55(3): 339-350.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2018): Overlapping Regionalism in Europe - Patterns and effects. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 20(1): 239-258.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2018): Exploring overlapping regionalism. Journal of International Relations and Development, 21(3): 635-662.

Book chapters 

• Sören Stapel (i.E.): Transnational Actors and International Organizations. In: Katja Freistein, Julia Leininger, Simone Weinlich (Hrsg.) Handbook of International Organizations: Theories, Concepts and Empirical Insights. Berlin: De Gruyter.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2024): Multi-level governance. In: Philippe de Lombaerde (Hrsg.) Handbook of Regional Cooperation and Integration. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 417-430.
• Diana Panke, Sören Stapel (2023): North America in Comparative Perspective: Regional Cooperation Dynamics in the Western Hemisphere and the World. In: Eric Hershberg, Tom Long (Hrsg.) North American Regionalism: Stagnation, Decline, or Renewal? Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 191-210.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2023): Sweden. In: Cedric de Coning, Angela Muvumba Sellström (Hrsg.) A Shared Commitment: African-Nordic Peace and Security Cooperation. Oslo und Uppsala: Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt (NUPI) und Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (NAI), 56-66.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2023): Externe Akteure und Sicherheitsregionalismus in Afrika: Ein neuer Datensatz zur externen Finanzierung. In: Johannes Muntschick (Hrsg.) Regionalismus in Afrika und externe Partner: Ungleiche Beziehungen und (un)beabsichtigte Effekte. Cham: Springer VS, 69-91.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2022): Regionalism in Africa. In: Jürgen Rüland, Astrid Carrapatoso (Hrsg.) Handbook on Global Governance and Regionalism. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 218-229.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2022): External Actors and Security Regionalism in Africa: A New Dataset on External Funding. In: Johannes Muntschick (Hrsg.) Regionalism in Africa and External Partners: Uneven Relationships and (Un)Intended Effects. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, S. 61-80.
• Sören Stapel, Fredrik Söderbaum (2020): Mapping and problematizing external funding to the African Union and Regional Economic Communities. In: Ulf Engel, Frank Mattheis (Hrsg.) The Polical Economy of Regional Security Organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America: Follow the Money. Abingdon: Routledge, S. 112-115.
• Tanja A. Börzel, Sören Stapel (2015): A Global Script in Regional Colours: Mapping Governance Transfer by Twelve Regional Organizations. In: Tanja A. Börzel, Vera van Hüllen (Hrsg.) Governance Transfer by Regional Organizations: Patching Together a Global Script. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, S. 22-48.
• Veronika Kirschner, Sören Stapel (2012): Does regime type matter? Regional integration from the nation states' perspectives in ECOWAS. In: Tanja A. Börzel, Lukas Goltermann, Mathis Lohaus, Kai Striebinger (Hrsg.) Roads to Regionalism. Genesis, Design, and Effects of Regional Organizations. Farnham: Ashgate, S. 141-157.

Policy Reports

• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2023): A Manifesto for Regionalism in Africa, UNU-CRIS Connecting Ideas.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2022): Regional Organisations and Africa's Development Challenges. UNU-CRIS Policy Brief 06-2022.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2022): Agenda 2063 and the role of Africa's overlapping regional organisations. Maastricht: ECDPM Discussion Paper No. 317.
• Ingo Henneberg, Sören Stapel (2020): Why a proposed Horn of Africa bloc could destabilise the larger region. The Conversation, 8 September 2020.
• Fredrik Söderbaum, Sören Stapel (2019): Pan-African and Regional Organizations: Assessing their Relevance and Contribution in Tackling Africa's Development Challenges. Final Report for the African Capacity-Building Foundation, Harare.