I am professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. I received my PhD. from the University of Bern, Switzerland. Previous teaching and research appointments and experiences  include the University of Konstanz, Germany, the institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence, Stanford University, and Freie University Berlin.

My research and teaching interests include conflict research, methods of conflict research, state-building and intervention, and international development. My regional focus is on the Former Soviet Union especially on Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia including Afghanistan.

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I have been a consultant / advisor for, among others, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the German Federal Ministry of Defence, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affaires, Global Affairs Canada, Minstry of Foreigen Affairs of the Netherlands, the GIZ and the World Bank. My recent practical work was mainly on evaluating the impact of development aid on violence.