Dr. Sandra Göttsche

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Dr. Sandra Göttsche is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Chair of International Politics at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg. Her research focuses on institutional migration governance and the complex interplay between vulnerability, agency, and responsibility in contexts of forced displacement.

She holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Security Studies from the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies, which she pursued in Hamburg, Alexandria (Egypt), and Damascus (Syria).

Sandra Göttsche combines critical theory, discourse analysis, and qualitative fieldwork to examine how refugees are positioned within political and institutional frameworks, particularly in Germany. Her work addresses how migration policies, public discourse, and administrative practices shape the lived experiences and political subjectivities of refugees.

While her empirical research focuses on the German context, she maintains strong regional interests in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Horn of Africa, especially regarding displacement dynamics, regional governance, and international cooperation.

At Helmut Schmidt University, she teaches courses on international relations, foreign policy, peace and security studies, and regionalism, with a particular emphasis on the Global South.

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Current research interests:

• Structural vulnerability and refugee agency
• Migration governance and institutional ethics
• Regional security and cooperation in the MENA region and the Horn of Africa
• Comparative discourses on refugee groups, including perceptions of Ukrainian (2022) vs. Syrian, Afghan, and Iraqi (2015–2016) refugees

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Publications

Göttsche, S. (forthcoming). From victim to actor: Structural vulnerability and the migrant condition. SAFI Blog. (Blog post).

Göttsche, S. (forthcoming). The duty to acknowledge: Redefining institutional responsibility by addressing refugees’ vulnerability and agency. In D. Poggi & G. Battistoni (Eds.), Responsibility. Verona: QuiEdit.

Göttsche, S., & Rojas-Matas, Y. (2024). Exploring the interplay of vulnerability and violence in institutions through the case of refugees’ labor market integration in Germany. Rechtsphilosophie, 10(4), 384–403.

Göttsche, S. (2021). The accumulation of vulnerability aspects in the figure of the migrant: A theoretical approach. In N. Fromm, A. Jünemann, & H. Safouane (Eds.), Power in vulnerability: A multi-dimensional review of migrants’ vulnerabilities (pp. 3–27). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. (Studien zur Migrations- und Integrationspolitik).

Göttsche, S., Jünemann, A., & Rojas-Matas, Y. (2021). Vulnerability and agency in the asymmetric relationship between refugees and their volunteer supporters: A critical assessment of Germany’s “welcome culture.” In N. Fromm, A. Jünemann, & H. Safouane (Eds.), Power in vulnerability: A multi-dimensional review of migrants’ vulnerabilities (pp. 229–248). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. (Studien zur Migrations- und Integrationspolitik).

Safouane, H., Jünemann, A., & Göttsche, S. (2021). Forced migrants’ tactical performances of agency: A theoretical perspective. Geopolitics. Advance online publication.

Safouane, H., Jünemann, A., & Göttsche, S. (2020). Migrants’ agency: A re-articulation beyond emancipation and resistance. New Political Science, 42(3), 322–342.

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Teaching Experience

Unless otherwise noted, all courses were taught in German.

Peace and Security Studies

HT2025: Conflict, Wars and Peace Processes: Power, Order and Resistance: Conflict Dynamics and Political Transformation in the Horn of Africa

HT2023: Conflicts, Wars and Peace Processes: The Case of the Horn of Africa

HT2022: Conflicts, Wars and Peace Processes: Current Conflict Zones in the Horn of Africa

HT2022: Conflicts, Wars and Peace Processes: The Sahel Region in Transition

HT2021: Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies: The Sahel Region in Transition

FT2020: Peace: Vulnerability and Security in the Context of Positive Peace

WT2020: War: Conflict Analysis and Conflict Transformation in Africa (taught in English)

FT2019: Peace: Post-Conflict Consolidation in War-Torn Societies. Sierra Leone as a Positive Example

FT2019: Peace: Vulnerability and Security

WT2019: War: Africa and the Arab World (taught in English)

WT2018: War: The Instrumentalization of Religion in Violent Conflicts

Foreign Policy

WT2025: Foreign Policy and International Cooperation: Foundations, Processes and Structures of Nation-State Foreign Policy

WT2023: Foreign Policy and International Cooperation: Current Questions in German Foreign Policy

WT2023: German Foreign and Security Policy: Current Challenges

WT2022: German Foreign and Security Policy: Strategic Challenges for a New Federal Government

International Relations

WT2025: Theories and Empirics of International Relations: Economic Dynamics in International Relations

WT2023: Theories and Empirics of International Relations: Global Perspectives on Megatrends

WT2022: Theories and Empirics of International Relations: The Middle East – Examples of Heterogeneity in Statebuilding

WT2018: Introduction to International Relations: International Relations in the Middle East – Theories and Case Studies

Regionalism (Master level)

WT2024: Comparative Regionalism I: Foundations of Regionalism – Theory

FT2023: Comparative Regionalism II: From Pan-Africanism to African Regionalism – Empirics

WT2023: Comparative Regionalism I: From Pan-Africanism to African Regionalism – Theory

Interdisciplinary Thematic Seminars

WT2015: The MENA Region after the Arab Spring: Theories, Themes and Transformation

05/2016: “The New Foreigners”: Workshop on Migration, Integration and Racism (taught in English)

10/2012: German and Egyptian Party Politics: Political Participation in Germany and Egypt

HSU

Letzte Änderung: 7. Juli 2025