Dr Felix Berenskötter
Reader in International Relations
Research interests
- International relations
- Security
- Politics
- Conflict
Contact details
Biography
Felix Berenskötter is Reader in International Relations in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). From 2009 to 2024, he was based at SOAS University of London, where he also served as Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies. He was a Research Fellow at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College, a Leverhulme Research Fellow, and a Visiting Fellow at the American-German Institute in Washington, DC.
Felix served as an editor of Millennium: Journal of International Studies and of the Journal of Global Security Studies. He founded and chaired the Theory Section of the International Studies Association (ISA), co-convened the Interpretivism in International Relations Working Group of the British International Studies Association (BISA) and served on the Governing Board of the European International Studies Association (EISA). He co-edits the book series Bristol Studies in International Theory with Professor Stefano Guzzini and Professor Neta Crawford for Bristol University Press.
Research Interests
- Theories and Concepts of World Politics
- Ontological Security
- Politics of Memory and Future Visions
- International Friendship
- European Peace and Security
- German Foreign Policy
Felix’ research explores how we develop and use theories and concepts in world politics, their analytical and political function and purpose. His work focuses on the concepts of identity, power, security, temporality, anxiety, and friendship. This overlaps with an interest in what the evolution of theories and concepts – their popularity, marginalization, and contestation – tell us about the history and sociology of the academic field of International Relations (IR).
Empirically, Felix’ work explores ideas and practices of security and peace in Europe, and Germany’s special relationships with other states, such as the USA and Israel. He is currently completing a monograph developing a theory of friendship and estrangement in international politics.
Another area of interest concerns the value of the university and its place in society, both as an ideal and as practiced reality, and the politics surrounding this question.
Teaching
2024-25 academic year:
Felix Berenskötter is currently supervising five PhD students.
Selected Publications
- Berenskötter, Felix (ed) Concepts in International Relations. A New Introduction (Sage Publications), forthcoming 2025
- Berenskötter, Felix and Guzzini, Stefano (2024) ‘Contested Essential Concepts’ DIIS Working Paper 2024:02
- Berenskötter, Felix and Mitrani, Mor (2022) ‘Is it Friendship? An Analysis of Contemporary German-Israeli Relations’, International Studies Quarterly, 66, Issue 1
- Berenskoetter, Felix and Nymalm, Nicola (2021) 'States of Ambivalence: Recovering the Concept of ‘the Stranger’ in International Relations',Review of International Studies 47, Issue 1, pp 19-38.
- Berenskoetter, Felix (2018) ‘Deep Theorizing in International Relations’, European Journal of International Relations 24, Issue 4, pp. 814-840
For a full list of publications, please visit the Research Portal.
Research
Research Centre in International Relations (RCIR)
The Research Centre in International Relations conducts research on practices of security and conflict, their transformation, and their social and political implications.
Research
Research Centre in International Relations (RCIR)
The Research Centre in International Relations conducts research on practices of security and conflict, their transformation, and their social and political implications.