Prof. Dr. Heinz Theisen is Professor of Political Science at the Catholic University of North Rhine-Westphalia in Cologne. He was born on 25 November 1954 in Langenfeld/Rhineland.

Theisen studied political science, sociology, history and constitutional law at the universities of Göttingen and Bonn, where he received his doctorate in 1983. From 1984 to 1987 he remained in Bonn as personal assistant to the rector of the university. The following three years he moved to Heidelberg, where he worked as a research assistant and assistant to the director at the interdisciplinary "Forschungsstätte der Ev. Studiengemeinschaft" research centre. His work focussed on genetic engineering and politics as well as ecology and democracy. Between 1991 and 1997 he was appointed professor of political science at the Federal University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration in Brühl and at the university's branch in Biesenthal/Brandenburg. Since 1997 he has been a professor in Cologne . Between 1996 and 2002, he was involved in the Transform Programme of the Federal Republic of Germany for the development of public administrations in Central and Eastern European countries. Various teaching activities have taken him to Eastern Europe, China and Palestine, among other places.

Theisen's research focuses on international politics. He has worked in particular on globalism and protectionism, and on strategies of self-assertion in international politics in a multipolar world. On this topic, he will teach a course at the MCC entitled "Self-assertion strategies in international politics. Europe's Future in a Multipolar World Order".


Visiting Fellow at MCC: February - April 2023

Publication list