Dr. Friedrich Plank

Department of Political Science
Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

Georg Forster-Building
Jakob-Welder-Weg 12
55128 Mainz

Room: 04-313
Phone: 0049-6131-39-20030
Email: friedrich.plank@politik.uni-mainz.de

Office Hours: Tuesday, 3-4 p.m. (in-person or online); please book a slot via email.

Current courses

  • Methodology of the Social Sciences: Qualitative Methods
  • Introduction to International Relations
  • AG Peace and Conflict Studies

 Research Interests

  • International Relations
  • Peace and Conflict Studies
  • International Organisations
  • Interregional relations and regionalism
  • EU foreign policy
  • Regional Focus: Africa South of the Sahara

Curriculum Vitae

  • 08/2021 - 12/2024: Associated member and staff member of the interdisciplinary cluster project "Clean Circles - Iron as energy carrier in a carbon neutral circular energy economy"
  • 04/2020: Doctorate in Political Science (International Relations)
  • since 09/2014: Research fellow and Lecturer at the Chair of International Politics (Prof. Dr. Arne Niemann), Department of Political Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
  • 10/2013 – 09/2014: Lecturer at the Chair of Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies (Prof. Dr. Christoph Weller), University of Augsburg
  • 10/2010 – 11/2013: Master of Arts (MA) in Conflict Studies at the University of Augsburg
  • 10/2007 – 09/2010: Bakkalaureus Artium (BA) in Political Science and German Studies at the University of Regensburg

PhD Project

"Evaluating the Africa-EU Partnership on Peace and Security. A Study on the Effectiveness of Interregional Peace Operations" (completed 04/2020)

Supervised by Prof. Dr. Arne Niemann and Prof. Dr. Anja Jetschke

Publications

You can find some of my work on my researchgate.net account.

Monograph

Plank, Friedrich (2022): Evaluating the Africa-EU Partnership on Peace and Security. Interregional Cooperation in Peace Operations. Cham: Palgrave. Link

Reviewed by János Besenyő in International Peacekeeping. 

Edited Volumes

Muntschick, Johannes/ Plank, Friedrich (eds.) (2024): The Performance of Regionalism in the Global South. A Multi-level Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge. Link

Maurer, Heidi/ Niemann, Arne/ Plank, Friedrich (2020): Special Issue: Innovative teaching on European (foreign) affairs. In: Journal of Contemporary European Research. 16:1. Link

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Muntschick, Johannes/ Plank, Friedrich (2025): Differentiated (dis)Integration and De-institutionalization in the African Security Regime Complex. In: Politische Vierteljahresschrift. Online first. Link

Brosig, Malte/ Plank, Friedrich/ Reykers, Yf (2023). Governance Through Regime Complexity: What Role for the EU in the African Security Regime Complex? In: Politics and Governance. 11:2. 72-83. Link

Plank, Friedrich, Daum, Britta, Muntschick, Johannes, Knodt, Michèle, Hasse, Christian, Ott, Ingrid, Niemann, Arne (2023). Hydrogen: Fueling EU-Morocco Energy Cooperation? In: Middle East Policy. 30:3- 37-52. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Muntschick, Johannes/ Niemann, Arne/ Knodt, Michèle (2023). External Hydrogen Relations of the European Union: Framing Processes in the Public Discourse Towards and within Partner Countries. In: Sustainability. 15:20. 14757. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2023): Principal-agent Relations, Politics of Discretion, and the Africa-EU Partnership on Peace and Security. In: Journal of European Integration. 45:5. 767-783. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2022): Interregional forum shopping in Africa–EU relations: Regional groups and the evolving security-development-migration nexus. In: South African Journal of International Affairs. 29:3. 271-293. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2022): Explaining the Effectiveness of Inter-organizational Peace Operations: AU-EU Cooperation in the Central African Republic. In: Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. 16:3. 306-327. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Bergmann, Julian (2021): The European Union as a Security Actor in the Sahel. Policy Entrapment in EU Foreign Policy. In: European Review of International Studies. 8:3. 382-412. Link

Stockemer, Daniel/ Niemann, Arne/ Unger, Doris/ Plank, Friedrich (2021): Equally at risk? Perceived financial differences, risk assessment and containment measures in the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Contemporary Politics. 28:2. 225-244. Link

Stockemer, Daniel/ Plank, Friedrich/ Niemann, Arne (2021): The COVID-19 pandemic and government responses: a gender perspective on differences in public opinion. In: Social Science Quarterly. 102:5. 2383-2393. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Keijzer, Niels/ Niemann, Arne (2021): Outside‐in Politicization of EU–Western Africa Relations: What Role for Civil Society Organizations? In: Journal of Common Market Studies. 59:1. S. 161-179. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Niemann, Arne (2020): Synchronous online-teaching on EU foreign affairs: A blended-learning project of seven universities between e-learning and live-interaction. In: Journal of Contemporary European Research. 16:1. 51-64. Link

Maurer, Heidi/ Niemann, Arne/ Plank, Friedrich (2020): Introduction: Innovative teaching on European (foreign) affairs. In: Journal of Contemporary European Research. 16:1. 4-12. Link

Henneberg, Ingo/ Plank, Friedrich (2020): Overlapping Regionalism and Security Cooperation: Power-Based Explanations of Nigeria's Forum-Shopping in the Fight against Boko Haram. In: International Studies Review. 22:3. 576-599. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Henneberg, Ingo/ Kobusch, Alexander et al. (2019): Standortübergreifende Lehre in der Politikwissenschaft: Nutzen und Beitrag eines innovativen Ringseminars. In: Politische Vierteljahresschrift (PVS). 60:1. 127-146. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2017): The effectiveness of interregional security cooperation: evaluating the joint engagement of the EU and the AU in response to the 2013 crisis in the Central African Republic. In: European Security. 26:4. 485-506. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2017): When peace leads to divorce: The splintering of rebel groups in powersharing agreements. In: Civil Wars. 19:2. 176-197. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2015): Not enough pieces of the cake? The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the Mindanao Final Agreement. In: Asian Security. 11:2. 154-177. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Henneberg, Ingo (2015): Von der heißen Schlacht zum kalten Buffet – Strategien der Inklusion und Exklusion in Power-Sharing Abkommen und Friedensprozessen. In: Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung. 4:1. 74-114. Link

Bock, Andreas M./ Henneberg, Ingo/ Plank, Friedrich (2014): “If you compress the spring, it will snap back hard” – The Ukrainian Crisis and the Balance of Threat Theory. In: International Journal. 70:1. 101-109. Link

Contributions to edited volumes:

Plank, Friedrich/ Muntschick, Johannes (2024): Conceptualizing the Performance of Regionalism beyond Europe: Addressing Challenges and Assessing Empirical Evidence in a Complex Setting. In: Muntschick, Johannes/ Plank, Friedrich (eds.): The Performance of Regionalism in the Global South. A Multi-level Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge. 3-26. Link

Muntschick, Johannes/ Plank, Friedrich (2024): Explaining the Performance of Regionalism in the Global South and Its Conditions. In: Muntschick, Johannes/ Plank, Friedrich (eds.): The Performance of Regionalism in the Global South. A Multi-level Analysis. Abingdon: Routledge. 213-228. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2022): Evaluating the effectiveness of the ECOWAS-EU interregional partnership on peace and security in the context of the Mali crisis. In: Muntschick, Johannes (Hrsg.): New regionalism and external partnerships in the Global South. Cham: Palgrave. 155-188. (peer reviewed). Link

Plank, Friedrich (2020): An unintended consequence of West Africa-EU relations: effects of regional security cooperation beyond the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). In: Lopez-Lucia, Elisa/ Mattheis, Frank (Hrsg.): The unintended consequences of interregionalism. London: Routledge. 125-143. (peer-reviewed). Link

Niemann, Arne/ Plank, Friedrich (2019): Das Prinzipal-Agenten-Modell und EU-Konfliktbearbeitung–Strukturelle Erklärungen für Agenten-Autonomie. In: Marker, Karl/ Schmitt, Annette/ Sirsch, Jürgen (Hrsg.): Demokratie und Entscheidung. Beiträge zur Analytischen Politischen Theorie. Wiesbaden: Springer. 359-384. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Niemann, Arne (2017): Impact of the agent´s environment on discretion in the field of EU conflict resolution: In: Delreux, Tom/ Adriaensen, Johan (Hrsg.): The Principal Agent Model and the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave. 131-155. (peer-reviewed) Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Muno, Wolfgang/ Niemann, Arne (2017): EU-Simulationen im Vergleich: Didaktik und Praxis von aktivem Lernen. In: Muno, Wolfgang/ Niemann, Arne/ Guasti, Petra (Hrsg.): Europa spielerisch lernen. Didaktische Überlegungen und Praxisbeispiele zu EU-Simulationen. Wiesbaden: Springer. 205-218. Link

Henneberg, Ingo/ Plank, Friedrich (2015): Conflict Management in the Constitution of South Sudan (2011). In: Marauhn, Thilo/ Elliesie, Hatem (Hrsg.): Legal Transformation in Northern Africa and South Sudan. Den Haag: Eleven International Publishing. 117-140. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Henneberg, Ingo (2014): Die Anwendungspotenziale der strukturierten Konfliktanalyse in den Internationalen Beziehungen. In: Bock, Andreas M./ Henneberg, Ingo (Hrsg.): Iran, die Bombe und das Streben nach Sicherheit. Strukturierte Konfliktanalysen. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag. 33-44. Link

Other articles:

Plank, Friedrich and Henneberg, Ingo (2025): Moving Beyond Data Constraints in Qualitative
Political Science: The Systematic Analysis of Press and Country Reports. Mainz Papers on International and European Politics No. 31. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2024): Review of Döring, Katharina P. W, African Military Politics in the Sahel: Regional Organizations and International Politics. H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2023): Frieden und Sicherheit in der Sahel-Region: Polarisiertes internationales Engagement. Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Muntschick, Johannes/ Knodt, Michéle/ Niemann, Arne (2023): Talking Hydrogen: Assessing Hydrogen Discourses in the European Union (EU) and its Member States. Mainz Papers on International and European Politics No. 27. Link

Budde, Svenja/ Plank, Friedrich/ Giesen, Michael/ Speyer, Johanna (2021): Nachhaltige Karrierewege? Wie, warum und was wir ändern müssen. Fazit und Handlungsempfehlungen. DVPW Blog, 5 July. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Giesen, Michael (2021): Nachhaltige Karrierewege? Podiumsdiskussion zu nachhaltigen Karrierewegen in der Wissenschaft. DVPW Blog, 30 June. Link

Budde, Svenja/ Plank, Friedrich/ Speyer, Johanna (2021): Nachhaltige Karrierewege? Navigieren zwischen Struktur und Freiheit: Aktuelle Probleme und Verbesserungsperspektiven der Promotionsbetreuung in der deutschen Politikwissenschaft. DVPW Blog, 23 June. Link

Plank, Friedrich/ Keijzer, Niels/ Niemann, Arne (2021): Invited politicisation? Exploring the roles of Civil Society Organisations in politicising EU-Western Africa relations from the outside-in. JCMS Blog Ideas on Europe, 17 May. Link

Bergmann, Julian/ Plank, Friedrich/ Niemann, Arne (2016): EU-Friedensmediation als Forschungs-gegenstand. Theoretische und empirische Perspektiven. In: Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung. 5:1. 137-144. Link

Bergmann, Julian/ Plank, Friedrich/ Niemann, Arne (2016): Studying EU Peace Mediation:Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives. CEDI Working Paper No. 4. Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Link

Plank, Friedrich (2014): Der Streit – Stütze der Gesellschaft. Konfliktbearbeitung als Kernbestandteil der deutschen Energiewende. In: 3e – Magazin für die Energiewirtschaft in Gewerbe und Industrie. 2-2014.

Plank, Friedrich/ Schnellhammer, Christine (2011): Macht in Konflikten – Macht von Konflikten. Bericht zum AFK-Jahreskolloquium 2011. In: Wissenschaft + Frieden. 4-2011.

 

Data

 

Memberships

Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (AFK)

International Studies Association (ISA)

University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES)

German Political Science Association (GPSA)

  • 2020-2023: Co-Spokesperson for the Early Career Group International Relations (ECIB) of the GPSA
  • 2018-2020: Deputy-Spokesperson for the Early Career Group International Relations (ECIB) of the GPSA