Harald Edinger

About

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher and Teaching Fellow at the Vienna School of International Studies (Diplomatische Akademie Wien).

My research focuses on Russian foreign and security policy, specifically the evolution of its nuclear strategy and force posture. In my ongoing research project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), I examine the ‘element of chance’ in nuclear threats and its implications for international security.

I also serve as Secretary General of the Austrian Political Science Association and as Austrian representative within CEPSA.

Previously, I held academic positions at GIGA Hamburg, University College Dublin, and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

My doctoral research bridged classical realism and the life sciences to explore the role of affect in foreign policy decision-making. Using an original analytical framework, I analyzed several case studies on Russian-European relations from 1999 to 2014.

Before transitioning to academia, I worked in management consulting and European financial regulation.

Educational background

DPhil International Relations, University of Oxford (2021)

MA International Relations and Economics, Johns Hopkins SAIS (2014)

BSc Business, Economics, and Social Sciences, WU Vienna, (2010)

Recent publications

Resume

My full CV is available here.

 

EDUCATION
2016 - 2021
DPhil
International Relations

Department of Politics and International Relations

University of Oxford, UK

2012 - 2014
MA
International Relations and International Economics

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Bologna, Italy, and Washington, DC

2007 - 2010
BSc
Business, Economics, and Social Sciences

University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria

PRIMARY ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2025 -
Senior Postdoc/Principal Investigator

Vienna School of International Studies

2023 - 2025
Researcher NextGenerationEU

Ca' Foscari University of Venice

2022 - 2023
Teaching Fellow in Peace and Conflict Studies

University College Dublin

2021 - 2022
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA)

Research

The abstract of my dissertation is available here.

Some of my recent publications and ongoing research projects:

Peer-reviewed articles

‘Contempt, Fear, and Hubris: the 2008 Russian–Georgian War through the Lens of Affect.’ International Politics (2024).
 
‘Hooked on a Feeling: Russia’s Annexation of Crimea through the Lens of Emotion.’ Political Psychology 44(4) (2023).
 
‘Offensive Ideas: Structural Realism, Classical Realism, and Putin’s War on Ukraine.’ International Affairs 98(6) (2022).
 
‘Theory of Irrational Politics: Classical Realist Lessons on Foreign Policy Analysis.’ International Studies Review 23(1) (2021).
 
‘Bored Enough Yet? International Order, Ideology, and What Could Get History Started Again.’ International Affairs 94(1) (2018).
 
Chapters in edited volumes
 
‘Realism, Responsibility, and the War.’ In After the War? How the Ukraine War Challenges Political Theories. Edited by: Anton Leist and Rolf Zimmermann. De Gruyter 2024.
 

Work in progress/under review

Adding Insult to Injury? The Origins of Russian Grievances towards the West.

Contempt, Fear, and Hubris: Lessons from the 2008 Russian-Georgian War.

Teaching

I currently run graduate seminars accompanying the core course Evolution of the International System at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

In the past, I taught the following subjects:

University College Dublin
■ Research Design (graduate lecture)
■ Russian Foreign Policy (graduate seminar)
■ Comparative Politics (undergraduate lecture)
■ Peace and Conflict Studies (graduate seminar)

University of Hamburg
■ Foreign Policy Analysis (undergraduate)
■ Russia and the Soviet Union in International Politics (undergraduate)

While a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford,
I offered tutorials on the following subjects:
■ International Relations (core paper)
■ International Relations in the Era of the Cold War
■ Politics in Russia and the Former Soviet Union
■ International Security and Conflict

I also taught for the Stanford Overseas Studies Program and for various summer school programs at Oxford.

Contact