List of Experts

Since its foundation, ZMO has put significant stress on transferring the results of its research and its expertise into society. ZMO research fellows are available for expert interviews in relation to their research focus.

  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike Freitag

    Director

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-0
    Country Focus: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen
    Topics: Contemporary history of the Middle East, democratisation, Arab historiography, history of the Indian Ocean

  • Prof. Dr. Sonja Hegasy

    Vice Director

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-223
    Country Focus: Egypt, Morocco
    Topics: Contemporary politics in the Arab World, democratisation & civil society, reactions to the Iraq War, reactions to 9/11

  • Dr. Anandita Bajpai

    Research Fellow

    Country Focus: India
    Topics: Politics and political rhetoric in contemporary India, nationalism in postcolonial India, India in German archives, relations between India and the GDR

  • Florian Coppenrath

    Associated Researcher

    Country Focus: Kygryzstan, Central Asia
    Topics: Popular culture, youth, creative industries, Cultural Globalisation

  • Dr. Maria-Magdalena Pruß

    Research Fellow

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-238
    Country Focus: South Asia, especially Pakistan
    Topics: Interreligious dialogue, religious minorities, blasphemy laws, modern Islamic thought, nationalism, history of South Asia

  • Dr. Sophia Hoffmann

    Head of research group

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-116
    Country Focus: Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon
    Topics: International Relations of the Middle East, contemporary politics, migration, humanitarian aid, Syrian War, Iraq War

  • Dr. Aksana Ismailbekova

    Research Fellow

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-146
    Country Focus: Kyrgyzstan
    Topics: Ethnicity, ethnic minority, conflict, elections, corruption, informal governance, migration, gender, education

  • PD Dr. Stefan B. Kirmse

    Senior Research Fellow and Research Coordinator

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-220 E
    Country Focus: Russia (with a focus on Tatarstan and Krim), Kyrgyzstan  
    Topics: Muslims in Russia and Central Asia, globalisation in Eurasia, regionalisation and federalism in Russia, history of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire, youth and youth organisations

  • Dr. David Leupold

    Research Fellow

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-114
    Country Focus: Turkey, Southern Caucasus, Central Asia
    Topics: Urban space, politics of memory, ethnic conflict, legacy of socialism

  • Dr. Heike Liebau

    Head of Research Unit "Representations of the Past"

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-226
    Country Focus: India
    Topics: History of colonialism, history of missions, history of German-Indian relations

  • Dr. Ergün Özgür

    Country Focus: North and South Caucasus
    Topics: Adaptation of Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants from Turkey in European countries, multicultural policies, people (i.e. Circassians and Abkhazians), Culture and Conflict

  • PD Dr. Dietrich Reetz

    Affiliated Researcher

    Country Focus: India, Pakistan
    Topics: Politics and current events in South Asia, regional conflicts (Afghanistan, Kashmir, Central Asia); Islamistic movements and parties, nuclear politics, Globalisation

  • Dr. Nitin Sinha

    Senior Research Fellow

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-133
    Country Focus: India
    Topics: Social and economic legacies of colonialism, postcolonial state and society, histories of labour, contemporary politics

  • Dr. Abdoulaye Sounaye

    Head of Research Unit "Contested Religion"

    Phone: +49-(0)30-80307-218
    Country Focus: Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mali, Sahel, West Africa
    Topics: Religion, state and society, Salafism, secularism, Urbanism, democratisation and political life, youth, culture, African Thought