Dr. Julia Grauvogel appointed professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg; funded Leibniz project on exit of external interventions

GIGA Expert Dr. Julia Grauvogel Appointed Professor at Leuphana University

Political scientist Dr. Julia Grauvogel has been appointed Professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg effective summer semester 2026. A veteran GIGA scholar and researcher, Grauvogel is an expert on international sanctions as well as conflict and authoritarianism studies, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

With this appointment, Leuphana University honoursJulia Grauvogel’srich academic career to date and her internationally renowned research. Her nomination is linked to her successful application to the Leibniz Programme for Women Professors, which aims to attract outstanding female scholars to professorial positions. The new GIGA research project “Ending External Interventions: Success, Failure, and Exit Dilemmas” will be funded within this framework; it is to examine the termination of external interventions such as sanctions, peace missions, and military operations in situations of armed conflict. Grauvogel leads the project.

At the GIGA, she has made a significant contribution to the advancement of scholarship on sanctions and external interventions. Her work combines comparative approaches with grounding in strong empirical foundations, earning international recognition in the process. In addition to her research, Grauvogel has been closely involved for many years now in supporting early-career scholars and fostering international networking between academic peers.

The Director of the GIGA Institute for African Studies,Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau, highlights the special significance of the appointment for the Institute as well: “Julia has had a picture-perfect career at the GIGA: from intern to project staff member and, via a tenured senior researcher, now to university professor.”

The professorship further strengthens the close cooperation between the GIGA and Leuphana University. The appointment also underscores the importance of the Hamburg metropolitan region as a hub for research as well as the vital role of targeted funding instruments in the career development of female researchers.

GIGA Researcher Dr. Julia Grauvogel Celebrates Success in the Leibniz Programme for Women Professors

A great achievement for the GIGA and for the Hamburg metropolitan area as a centre for scholarship: The Leibniz Association Senate has decided to fund GIGA researcher Dr. Julia Grauvogel in the framework of the Leibniz Programme for Women Professors, greenlighting the research project “Ending External Interventions: Success, Failure and Exit Dilemmas.”

Ending External Interventions: Success, Failure and Exit Dilemmas

A record number of armed conflicts puts the lives of millions at stake. The majority of these conflicts have involved external interventions to foster peace and security, but they are heavily contested and often occur without long-term exit strategies. The project thus investigates the ending of external interventions into armed conflict. It focuses on sanctions, peacekeeping missions and military operations to study exit dilemmas and post-exit legacies related to these different types of intervention.Leibniz Association, 2026-2031

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine once again raises the question of sanctions’ effectiveness. Economic sanctions are a popular foreign policy tool for addressing a wide range of international issues, including armed conflict, human rights violations, and terrorism.