on appointment
Campus
Nordhäuser Str. 63
99089 Erfurt
University of Erfurt
Faculty of Economics, Law and Social Sciences
Internationale Beziehungen
Postfach 90 02 21
99105 Erfurt
on appointment
Campus
Nordhäuser Str. 63
99089 Erfurt
University of Erfurt
Faculty of Economics, Law and Social Sciences
Internationale Beziehungen
Postfach 90 02 21
99105 Erfurt
My research focuses on the intersection of international political economy (IPE), global social theory and international theory of law and politics – with particular interest in the promises and limits of interdisciplinary research. It reconstructs the limits and boundaries of these fields by exploring the connectivities to economic sociology, social systems theory, heterodox economics, and history of economic and political thought more generally and uses these inquiries to highlight conceptual shortcomings, disciplinary biases and avenues for inter-disciplinary research.
For the last five years, in particular the notions of risk and uncertainty have guided my research in these fields. From early onwards, my research is interested in understanding the social, spatial and temporal underpinnings of financial practices and their regulations. Especially with the current crisis, the idea that a one size fits all approach to regulation is incomplete at best and counterproductive at worst. It shows that a more evolutionary and dynamic understanding of regulation and the consequences of the crisis are needed.
Also, the recent crisis indicates that we need to better understand the dynamics that have led to the de-coupling of financial from real markets. A process that is often called ‘financialisation’. Financialisation has moved to the core of my research for the last two years, especially in the context of a German network on ‘politics of financialisation’ (convened with Andreas Nölke) and the Cost Action 0902 on the current crisis (co-chaired with Charlie Dannreuther).
Academic Positions
Since 2012
Professor for International Relations (University of Erfurt)
2011–2012
Professor for History and Theory of International Relations (University of Groningen, NL)
2010–2011
Professor of International Relations (University of Erfurt, Acting)
2009–2010
Professor of International Political Theory (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Acting)
2005–2008
Research and Teaching Associate for International Relations (University of Bielefeld)
2003–2005
Post-Doc Fellow at the Institute of World Society Studies (University of Bielefeld)
2000–2003
PhD Fellow - Research Network Politics-Law-Philosophy, Munich
Education
2009
Habilitation (University of Bielefeld) Title: "International Relations and the Problem of World Society"
2004
PhD in International Relations Thesis: The International Political Economy of Risk
2002–2003
Visiting Fellow at the Eric Castrén Institute for International Law (Helsinki University)
2001–2002
Visiting Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School (Harvard University)
1998–1999
Master of Arts Program in International Political Economy (University of Warwick)
1994–1999
Undergraduate Studies in Economics and Political Science (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich) Degree of Diplomvolkswirt (MSc Economics)
Current Memberships
Reviews for
Kessler, Oliver/Steele, Brent/Gould, Harry (i.E.).(Eds.).(2018): „Tactical Constructivism as Method.“ London: Routledge.
Kessler, Oliver/Arfi, Badredine (2018): „Social Theory Going Quantum-Theoretic? Questions, Alternatives and Changes“. in: Millennium: Journal of International Studies 47(1): 67-73.
Kessler, Oliver/dos Reis, Filipe (i.E.): „Legitimacy“, in: Jean d’Aspremont /Sahib Singh (eds.): Concepts of International Law: Contributions to Disciplinary Thought. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Kessler, Oliver/Steele, Brent (2018): „On Constructivism, Realism and Contingency“, in: Mariano E. Bertucci/Jarrod Hayes/Patrick James (eds.): Constructivism Reconsidered: Past, Present, and Future. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Kessler, Oliver/Arfi, Badredine (2018): „Forum Introduction: Social Theory Going Quantum-Theoretic? Questions, Alternatives and Changes“, in: Millennium: Journal of International Studies 47(1): 67-73.
Kessler, Oliver (2018): „The Mind-Body Problem and the Move from Supervenience to Quantum Mechanics“, in: Millennium: Journal of International Studies 47(1): 74-86.
Kessler, Oliver/Wilhelm, Benjamin (2017): „Shadow Banking, German Banking and the Question of Political Order“, in Anastasia Nesveteilova: Shadow Banking: Scope, Origins and Theories. London: Routledge.
Kessler, Oliver/Dannreuther, Charles (2017):„Racialised Futures. On Finance: Risk and Slave Trades", in: Millenniu: Journal of International Studies 45(3) 356 –379.
Kessler, Oliver (2016): „The Carpet Crawlers: Quanten in den Internationalen Beziehungen“, in: Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 23(2): 207-221.
Kessler, Oliver (2016): „The Contingency of Constructivism. On Norms, the Social and the Third“, in: Millennium: Journal of International Studies 45 (1): 43-63.
Kessler, Oliver (2016): „The Failure of Failure: on Constructivism, the Limits of Critique, and the Socio-Political Economy of Economics“, in: Millennium: Journal of International Studies 44 (3): 348-369.
Kessler, Oliver/dos Reis, Filipe (2016): „Constructivism and the Politics of International Law“, in: F. Hoffmann/A. Orford (eds.): Oxford Handbook oft he Theory of International Law. Oxford University Press.
Kessler, Oliver/Steele, Brent (2016): "Introduction: Constructing IR: The third generation", in: European Review of International Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3 (2016). Leverkusen: Budrich UniPress.
Kessler, Oliver (2015): "Observing Visions of Man", in: Annette Freyberg-Inan/Daniel Jakobi: Visions of Man. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kessler, Oliver (2015): "Ignorance and the Sociology of Economics", in: Linsey McGoey/Matthias Groß: Routledge Handbook of Ignorance Studies. London: Routledge.
Kessler, Oliver (2014): "What Price Culture", in Bob Jessop/Christoph Scherrer/Brigitte Young (eds): Financial Cultures. London: Routledge.
Kessler, Oliver (2013): “Constructivism as an Approach to Global Political Economy?”, in: Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik 6(1 Supplement): 31–49.
Kessler, Oliver/Werner, Wouter (2013): “Expertise, Uncertainty and International Law: A Study of the Tallinn Manual on Cyberwarfare”, in: Leiden Journal of International Law 26(4): 793–810.
Kessler, Oliver/Kratochwil, Friedrich (2013): “Functional differentiation and the oughts and musts of international law”, in: Mathias Albert/Barry Buzan/Michael Zürn (eds.): Bringing Sociology to International Relations: World Politics as Differentiation Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 159–181.
Kessler, Oliver/Wilhelm, Benjamin (2013): “Financialization and the Three Utopias of Shadow Banking”, in: Competition & Change 17(3), S. 248–264.
Kessler, Oliver/Herborth, Benjamin (2013): "Recognition and the constitution of social order", in: International Theory 5(1): 155–160.
University of Erfurt (Campus)
Nordhäuser Str. 63
99089 Erfurt
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