Meike Lurweg

Peace and Development Research African studies
PhD Student

About

In January 2011, I started as a PhD student in ‘Peace and Development Research’ here at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, where I also obtained my master’s degree (MA) in ‘Global Studies’ in September 2010.

Before I started studying here, I obtained a master’s degree in Political Science, Economics and Law from the University of Münster, Germany, in 2008.

Areas of interest

Within the field of peace and development research, I am generally interested in global peace and security policies, for example in terms of peacebuilding interventions. More specifically, I am focusing on both the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) and their respective roles as actors in global politics, specifically focusing on the area of peace, security and development. Hence, questions of effectiveness as well as coherence in policy formulation and implementation are centered.

My geographical focus is on politics in Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on the African Great Lakes Region. Within that region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo but also Rwanda is of particular interest for me. In line with this, my focus is on regional conflict and peacebuilding interventions by the international community, namely the EU and the UN.

Current research

The title of my PhD project is: ‘Success or Failure? The Impact of the EU and UN Peacebuilding Interventions in the DR Congo’. The research thereby critically engages with the debate on the impact of peacebuilding interventions carried out by the international community, represented by the EU and the UN, to draw further conclusions on whether and to what extent these interventions can be identified as a success or as a failure. By doing so, the research will also elaborate on the relationship between the external interveners and the recipients of the interventions, the so-called intervened upon.

In addition, I am working in an EU-funded research project which focuses on the ‘EU as a Global Regional Actor in Security and Peace’ (EU-GRASP) in a context of challenged and changing multilateralism. Within this project, I am focusing on the role the EU plays in the conflict in the African Great Lakes Region.
 

Teaching and tutoring

From 2012 on, I will be responsible for the Bachelor course on ‘Political Change, Conflicts and Conflict Management in Africa’ (AA 1111).

In addition, I am also occasionally lecturing in different courses of the MA program in ‘Global Studies’.