Dr. Ben Christian
Research Associate at the Professorship for International Institutions and Peace Processes
Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt a. M. |
Vita
Hi! I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at 看片软件 Frankfurt. I am also an Associate Fellow at the and was recently a Visiting Fellow at the
In my research, I try to understand how international organizations (IOs) can better navigate the dilemmas they face in fulfilling their complex mandates. I focus on the inner workings of IOs: their internal structure, organizational culture, and staff. My goal is to shed light on the power and pathologies of IOs by examining the rationales of the bureaucratic actors within these organizations.
I am particularly interested in the role of internal criticism in organizational learning processes, self-legitimation practices, and the agency and emotions of IO employees. Recently, I have also been working on trust dynamics and specialization in multilateral negotiations.
My research has appeared or is forthcoming in outlets like International Studies Quarterly, Journal of European Public Policy, Global Studies Quarterly, Journal of International Relations & Development, and the Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology.
Focus on Research
- International Organizations
- Trust and Conflict
- Legitimacy and authority in global governance
- United Nations
- International peace operations / UN peacekeeping
- Organization studies and practice theory
- Sociology of Critique
Publications
- Christian, Ben (2025): Why International Organizations Don't Learn: Dissent Suppression as a Source of IO Dysfunction. International Studies Quarterly 69 (1), sqaf008. .
- Christian, Ben (2024): 鈥淛ust Theatre!" 鈥� How Self-Legitimation Practices Can Backfire in International Organizations. Global Studies Quarterly 4 (1), ksae010. .
- Christian, Ben & Dirk Peters (2024): Establishing trust and distrust when states leave international organisations: the case of Brexit. Journal of European Public Policy: 1-27. .
- Christian, Ben (2023): Working for World Peace: Between Idealism and Cynicism in International Organizations. Swiss Journal of Sociology 49 (1): 21-39. .
- Christian, Ben (2022): A threat rather than a resource: why voicing internal criticism is difficult in international organisations. Journal of International Relations and Development 25 (2): 425-449. .
- Christian, Ben (2022): Mediation and Critique in International Organizations [in German: Vermittlung und Kritik in Internationalen Organisationen]. zeitschrift diskurs 8: 27-40. .
- Christian, Ben (2020): Suppression or avoidance? 鈥淐riticism from within" in German development agencies [in German: D眉rfen sie nicht oder wollen sie nicht? 鈥濳ritik von innen鈥� in staatlichen Entwicklungsorganisationen]. ZIB Zeitschrift f眉r internationale Beziehungen 27 (2): 65-93. .
- Christian, Ben (2017): Correct Voting at the 2013 German Federal Election: An Analysis of Normatively Desirable Campaign Effects. German Politics 26 (1): 170-186. .
- Christian, Ben & Sebastian Schindler (2025): The Social Constitution of International Organizations as Actors of World Politics. In: Stacie Goddard, George Lawson and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.). Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology. Oxford University Press. .
- Christian, Ben (2025): Cynicism. In: Beate Jahn and Sebastian Schindler (eds.). Elgar Encyclopedia of International Relations. Edward Elgar Publishing. .
- Christian, Ben & Elisabeth Christian (2023): Between Promises of Salvation and Disillusionment: On the Risks and Side Effects of Leadership in Public Institutions [in German: Zwischen Heilsversprechen und Ern眉chterung: Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen von F眉hrung in 枚ffentlichen Institutionen]. In: Annemarie Bauer, Marlies W. Fr枚se and J枚rg Seigies (eds.). Verborgene und unbewusste Dynamiken in Organisationen: Systeme psychoanalytisch verstehen in Beratung, Coaching und Supervision. Psychosozial-Verlag, S. 119-136. .
- Christian, Ben & Sebastian Schindler (2025): The Social Constitution of International Organizations as Actors of World Politics. In: Stacie Goddard, George Lawson and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.). Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology. Oxford University Press. .
- Christian, Ben (2025): Cynicism. In: Beate Jahn and Sebastian Schindler (eds.). Elgar Encyclopedia of International Relations. Edward Elgar Publishing. .
- Christian, Ben & Elisabeth Christian (2023): Between Promises of Salvation and Disillusionment: On the Risks and Side Effects of Leadership in Public Institutions [in German: Zwischen Heilsversprechen und Ern眉chterung: Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen von F眉hrung in 枚ffentlichen Institutionen]. In: Annemarie Bauer, Marlies W. Fr枚se and J枚rg Seigies (eds.). Verborgene und unbewusste Dynamiken in Organisationen: Systeme psychoanalytisch verstehen in Beratung, Coaching und Supervision. Psychosozial-Verlag, S. 119-136. .
- Christian, Ben, Johanna Speyer & Lisbeth Zimmermann (2024): The rules-based international order will not survive if its institutions only work in powerful states' interests. LSE USAPP Blog. .
- Christian, Ben & Dominik Herold (2024): What kind of spaces does democracy need? [In German: Welche Orte braucht die Demokratie?]. In: Frank Dievernich, Jasmin Sch眉lke, Paula Macedo Wei脽 (eds.). Demokratie gestalten. Eine Aufforderung zum Handeln. Frankfurter Allgemeine Buch. .
- Christian, Ben, M. Coni-Zimmer, N. Deitelhoff, M. Dembinski, S. Kroll, M. Lesch & D. Peters (2023): Multilateralismus als Rahmenordnung: Zur Krise und Zukunft der multilateralen Weltordnung. PRIF Report 2/2023. .
- Christian, Ben & Antonia Witt (2022): Totgesagte leben l盲nger: Die Vereinten Nationen und der Krieg in der Ukraine. PRIF-Blog. .
- Christian, Ben & Nicole Deitelhoff (2021): Die UN als globaler 鈥濻treitraum鈥�: Zur Aktualit盲t von Dag Hammarskj枚lds Erbe. PRIF Spotlight. .
- Christian, Ben & Dominik Herold (2021): Jenseits der Wahl: 鈥濪emokratie st盲rken鈥� 鈥� aber welche? PRIF-Blog. .
- Wolff, J., A. Witt, J. Stappenbeck, S. Schnabel, A. Peez, J. Junk, M. Coni-Zimmer, B. Christian, S. Birchinger and F. Bethke (2020): Peace and Development 2020. An Analysis of Recent Experiences and Findings. Frankfurt am Main: HSFK. .
- Bethke, F., S. Birchinger, B. Christian, M. Coni-Zimmer, J. Junk, A. Peez, S. Schnabel, J. Stappenbeck, A. Witt, J. Wolff (2020): Developing Peace: Impulses for German and International Development Cooperation. PeaceLab-Blog. .
- Christian, Ben & Sascha Hach (2020): Infizierte Weltordnung: Ende des Lagerdenkens 鈥� Comeback der UN! PRIF-Blog. .
- Christian, Ben, N. Deitelhoff, M. Dembinski, G. Hofmann, N. Noesselt, A. Peez, M. Polianskii (2020): Institutionelle Friedenssicherung: Wer ordnet die Welt? Neue M盲chte und alte Institutionen. In: BICC, HSFK, IFSH, INEF (Hrsg.). Im Schatten der Pandemie: Letzte Chance f眉r Europa. Friedensgutachten 2020. Bielefeld: Transcript: 116-137. .
- Christian, Ben & Melanie Coni-Zimmer (Hrsg.) (2020): Deutschland im UN-Sicherheitsrat: Eine Halbzeitbilanz. PRIF Report. Frankfurt am Main: HSFK. .
- Christian, Ben & Simone Schnabel (2019): Blindspot Konflikt: Der erste Global Sustainable Development Report ignoriert ein zentrales Querschnittsthema. PRIF-Blog. .
- Christian, Ben (2019): Vorhang auf: Deutschlands Pr盲sidentschaft im UN-Sicherheitsrat. PRIF-Blog. .
- Christian, Ben (2019): Entwicklungszusammenarbeit im Bundeshaushalt: 鈥濻chwarze Null鈥� sticht 鈥濬luchtursachen bek盲mpfen鈥�. PRIF-Blog. .