Institute of Political Science

Prof. Dr. Oliver Schlumberger

 

Contact Information

Institute of Political Science
Melanchthonstr. 36
72074 Tübingen, Germany
Room 116
Phone: +49 7071/ 29-7 83 72
menaspam prevention@ifp.uni-tuebingen.de

 

Professor

Office hours during Term Break 2025

Friday, 15th of August 2025, 09:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Friday, 21st of August 2025, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Monday, 08th of September 2025, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Friday, 19th of September 2025, 10:00 a.n. to 12:00 p.m.

Office hours take place offline, in presence, at the Institute (my office, i.e. room #116 on the first floor) unless you explicitly ask for online office hours. To book an appointment please contact Ms. Wagner: menaspam prevention@ifp.uni-tuebingen.de

For PhD Students

If you consider choosing Professor Schlumberger as your PhD supervisor, please bear in mind that some general requirements need to be met. You should have completed a Masters degree in political science (grade 2,0 and better); very good english skills are essential. When applying, the following documents ahould be handed in:

  • PhD proposal (max. seven pages) that contains:
    • Research qeustion and its justification
    • Research design
    • Proposal methodology
    • Time horizon and tentative work plan
    • Possible results
    • Tentative list of core references (min. one page)
  • One unedited writing sample (term paper or similar)
  • A current CV (Curriculum Vitae)

For further information, please follow the link here.

Letter of Recommendation

Please note that if you need a letter of recommendation from our Professors, you should get in touch with us about 2 months in advance! Thereby we can prevent stress for both professors and students.

In order to guarantee a smooth processing of your request, please hand in the following documents and information:

  • CV; if applicable, motivation letter.
  • Which Institution are you applying for and for which activity?.
  • contact details of the respective contact person.
  • address where the certificate should be sent to.
  • guidelines from the Institution, official forms (if available)

Unfortunately, if your grade point average is below 2,0 or if written performance is not yet accessible (i.e. before the end of the first term) no letter of recommendation can be issued. This is also the case if Prof. Schlumberger knows you only from a lecture.

Academic and Professional Background

  • Since 2009: Professor for Middle East and Comparative Politics at the University of Tübingen
  • Since 2005: Senior Researcher on Governance, Statehood, Security at the German Development Institute (DIE), Bonn
  • 1998 – 2004 Assistant Professor at the Institute of Political Science in Tübingen than applied science and policy advice as research fellow
  • studied Political Science and Islamic Studies in Tübingen, Geneva and Damascus
  • born in 1970

Find Professor Schlumberger's Curriculum Vitae here.

Research Interests

Comparative Study of Political Regimes

Democratization and Authoritarianism

Development Policy

Good Governance

Politics of the Middle East

Political Economy of Developing Countries.