University of Gothenburg
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Kilian Spandler

Researcher

School of Global
Studies
Telephone
+46 703-12 08 78
Mail
kilian.spandler@gu.se

About Kilian Spandler

Kilian Spandler is an International Relations researcher specializing in the role of regions in world politics. His expertise covers regional governance in Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. In his book “Regional Organizations in International Society” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), he provides a historical lens on the evolution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU). He is also a co-author of “Contestations of the Liberal International Order” (Cambridge University Press, 2021), which analyzes the regional cooperation strategies of populist leaders around the world.

Kilian’s main research interests are:

  • The transformation of national sovereignty and its impact on transboundary cooperation in the Global South;
  • The role of populism in international cooperation
  • The relation between regional organizations and global actors (especially the UN) in humanitarian affairs;
  • Theories of regionalism;
  • Normative pluralism and the ethics of global governance.

Kilian obtained his PhD from the University of Tübingen, Germany, in 2016. He then worked as a Visiting Lecturer in International Relations at the Universities of Würzburg and Freiburg until mid-2017, before joining the School of Global Studies as a post-doctoral researcher.

Besides these more academic undertakings, Kilian is an advocate of making young voices heard in International Relations. From 2016 to 2019, he was a board member of the Young Initiative on Foreign Affairs and International Relations (IFAIR), a platform for transnational projects launched by students and young professionals. Within IFAIR, he also founded the EU-ASEAN Perspectives Dialogue, in which participants from Europe and Southeast Asia develop recommendations for policy-makers in the two regions.

More information on Kilian’s research is available on Researchgate and his personal website.