University of Gothenburg
  2. About the University
  3. Find staff
  4. Johan Karlsson Schaffer

Johan Karlsson Schaffer

Professor

School of Global Studies
Telephone
+46 31-786 59 31
Mail
j.k.schaffer@gu.se
Visiting address
Konstepidemins väg 2
41314 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 700
40530 Göteborg

About Johan Karlsson Schaffer

I joined the School of Global Studies in 2016. Before joining SGS, I worked at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, from 2009 to 2017. I also held a visiting professorship at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, in 2018–2019. At GU, I was awarded the title of Excellent Teacher in 2022 and promoted to Professor of International Relations in 2024.

Since 2020, I have been Editor-in-Chief of the Nordic Journal of Human Rights.

Research

My research explores the politics of human rights, legal mobilization, and judicial politics, with a particular emphasis on the Nordic countries. My current research primarily examines how civil society groups mobilize rights claims through the courts to seek redress and political change, and how the policy-making roles of courts has evolved.

I also have research interests at the intersection of political theory and international relations, particularly human rights and democratic theory. My previous research has addressed, amongst other things, the philosophy of human rights, cosmopolitanism and transnational democracy, epistemic and deliberative democratic theory, and the authority and legitimacy of global governance institutions.

Research projects

I am or have been Principal Investigator of the following externally funded research projects:

Teaching and supervision

I teach at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels, primarily in theory development, social science methodology, and International Relations theory.

I also supervise and examine BA and MA theses within my areas of research, for instance legal mobilization, human rights, International Relations theory, democratic theory, and global governance. If you are a student at SGS would like to write a BA or MA thesis or undertake a research internship in any of these areas, please feel free to get in touch.

I also supervise doctoral candidates. I have previously supervised four doctoral candidates to completion (Natalia Torres Zuñiga, Richard Georgi, Paul Vrieze and Aly Verjee).