Dr Brigitte Weiffen

Professional biography

Brigitte (Britta) Weiffen joined the Open University in September 2020. From 2015 to 2020, she held the Martius Chair for German and European Studies, a visiting professorship sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), at the Department of Political Science, University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. Before, she was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of International Relations at USP (2014-2015), a Lecturer at the University of Konstanz, Germany (2008-2014) and a Research Associate at the University of Tübingen (2005-2008) and the University of Bonn (2001-2005). Brigitte received her PhD in Political Science from the University of Tübingen (2009) and her M.A. in Political Science from the University of Bonn (2001). 

Research interests

Brigitte is particularly interested in topics at the intersection of comparative politics, international relations and area studies. Her regional focus on Latin America goes hand in hand with an interregional comparative perspective. Her research agenda includes external influences on democratisation and autocratisation, regional organisations and regional security (in particular, conflict and crisis management by regional organisations), human rights and transitional justice, and Latin American politics and international relations. 

Teaching interests

At the Open University, Brigitte is currently a module team co-chair (production) of the second-year undergraduate module Exploring International Relations: Actors, Issues, Perpectives (D228) and a module team member (production) of a new third-year IR module (D322). She has previously authored material for the MA in International Relations (D818 and D828), and was a module team member and module chair (presentation) on the third-year undergraduate module International Relations: Continuity and Change in Global Politics (DD313). 

Before coming to the OU, Brigitte has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses on democratisation, human rights and transitional justice, conflict management and peacebuilding, international and regional organisations, politics and public administration in Latin America, as well as social science methods and statistics. 

Doctoral supervision

Brigitte has supervised PhD and Master students at the University of São Paulo and the University of Konstanz and would be happy to discuss new dissertation and research proposals on topics related to democratisation, democracy promotion, transitional justice, regional organisations in Latin America and comparative regionalism. 

External collaborations

Chair of Research Committee 34 "Quality of Democracy" of the International Political Science Association (IPSA)

Member of Research Network External Democracy Promotion (EDP)