Institute of Political Science

Maximilian Kiefer, M.A.

Maximilian Kiefer is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Political Science since November 2019 and works as research associate in the research project “Transformation of Violence-Centered Masculinities after Armed Conflict”. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy as well as an M.A. in Peace Research and International Politics, both from the University of Tübingen. In 2019, he graduated with a thesis on the construction of guerrilla masculinities in the case of the Salvadoran FMLN.

During his studies, Maximilian Kiefer interned in the division of transitional aid in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and subsequently worked as an external advisor for gender and conflict at the GIZ.

In his dissertation, he examines how violence-centered masculinities are transformed through peacebuilding instruments in the Sub Saharan region.

Research Interests

  • Gender and conflict
  • Military masculinities
  • Peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction
  • DDR and reintegration of ex-combatants

Publications

  • Kiefer, Maximilian (2022): "Of Predators and New Men: How Ideology Matters in Constructing Military Masculinities". Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung 11, pp. 41-63.
  • Kiefer, Maximilian; Messerschmidt, Maike (2020): "Sammelrezension: Defizite in der UN-Friedenspraxis". Femina Politica 29 (2), pp. 75-76.
  • Kiefer, Maximilian; Messing, Kira; Musial, Julia; Weiß, Tobias (2016): “Westliche Jugendliche im Bann des Islamischen Staates. Radikalisierende Inhalte der IS-Propaganda am Beispiel der Online-Magazine Dabiq und Rumiyah”. Journal for Deradicalization 9, pp. 126-184.

Conferences and Workshops

  • "Habitus, War, and Masculinitiy: Using Bourdieu to Understand Rebel Socialization and Post-Conflict Transition". Paper presented at the virtual ISA conference, 04/2021. 
  • "The Promises and Pitfalls of Studying Violence-Centred Masculinities: Methodological Reflections". Co-authored with Maike Messerschmidt, Hendrik Quest, Gabriele Abels and Andreas Hasenclever. Paper presented at the virtual workshop 'Analysing Gender, Practices, and Social Change'. Tübingen, 01/2021.
  • “Creating the New Man and the New Woman? Guerrilla Masculinities in the Salvadoran FMLN”. Paper presented at the AFK workshop ‘Women Beyond Passive Victimhood?’. Magdeburg, 10/2019.
  • “Von Vorteilen und Menschenrechten. Strategien zur Entsicherheitlichung von Migration und deren Einfluss auf den öffentlichen Diskurs in Deutschland“. Paper presented at the DNGPS workshop ‘Gefährdete Konstellationen’. Berlin, 03/2017.
  • “Westliche Jugendliche im Bann des Islamischen Staates. Radikalisierende Inhalte der IS-Propaganda am Beispiel des Onlinemagazins Dabiq“. Co-authored with Kira Messing, Julia Musial and Tobias Weiß. Paper presented at the Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung/ PRIF workshop ‘Ist der neue Terrorismus von gestern?’. Halle (Saale), 10/2016.