Department of Political Science

Since November 2019, I have been an Assistant Professor in the section for International Politics at Aarhus University's Department of Political Science.

Research

My research agenda proceeds along three tracks:

(I) Russia's foreign policy after the Cold War. In my research on Russian foreign policy, I pay special interest to the mutually constitutive relation between national identity and foreign policy. Particularly, how Russian elites use foreign policy crises to reconstruct national identities and change foreign policies. Furthermore, I am interested in how Russia's foreign policy is developing in an increasingly disruptive direction (e.g., instrumentalizing pro-Russian groupings) in the post-Soviet territory.

(II) The European External Action Service (EEAS). As a member of the EURDIPLO research project, I am particularly interested in how seconded diplomats from EU member states are socialized into the EEAS. Furthermore, I am interested in analyzing local instances of conflict and cooperation between the EEAS and member states abroad.

(III) Social science methodology and method. I am particularly interested in the differences between interpretive, case- and variance-based approaches to the study of the political. In particular, what constitutes scientific knowledge within these approaches and what is considered “valid” evidence and trustworthy methods.

Teaching & supervision

I have taught courses and supervised theses about various aspects of international politics, especially foreign policy analysis. I consider myself to be a methodological and methodical pluralist, but my primary competences are located within the case-based and interpretive approach. In addition to Russian foreign policy, I have primarily conducted research about Danish, European and Soviet foreign policy.

Press & invited lectures

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in interviews or lectures about Russian foreign policy: gejl@ps.au.dk or +45 8716 6153. Lectures and interviews can be conducted in Danish and English.


Click on the link for my updated CV: Curriculum vitae