University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Bio

Christoph Stefes studied political science and international relations in Tübingen/Germany, Groningen/Holland and at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver where he received his MA and Ph.D. in International Studies in 1997 and 2002, respectively. He joined the University of Colorado Denver in 1999 as a part-time lecturer. In 2002, he became an Assistant Professor for Comparative European & Post-Soviet Studies at UC-Denver's Department of Political Science. With the award of tenure in 2009, he was promoted to Associate Professor.

In his research and teaching, Prof. Stefes focuses on the political developments in Europe and the former Soviet Union. He has published numerous books, book chapters, and articles on the political transitions in the South Caucasus, paying special attention to governance related issues. In addition, he has collaborated with Prof. Frank Laird at the University of Denver in a project on the politics of renewable energy development in the United States and Europe. This project has received funding from the National Science Foundation. He and his colleague have presented the findings of this research at several conferences and in journals.

On sabbatical/academic leave, he has joined a research group at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (Social Science Research Center Berlin) that investigates the conditions of stability of autocratic regimes. This research project is funded by the German Science Foundation. In addition, he currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute Berlin, analyzing societal conflicts that are caused by climate change.

Select Publications

Stefes, Christoph H. "Wilted roses and tulips. Regression of democratic rule in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia”, in: Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft (forthcoming).

Stefes, Christoph H. 2010. "Bypassing Germany's Reformstau: The Remarkable Rise of Renewable Energy”, in: German Politics 19: 148-63.

Laird, Frank N. and Christoph Stefes. 2009. "The diverging paths of German and United States policies for renewable energy: sources of difference”, in: Energy Policy 37 (2009): 2619-29.

Wooden, Amanda E. and Christoph H. Stefes (eds.) The Politics of Transition in Central Asia and the Caucasus. London, New York: Routledge, 2009.

Stefes, Christoph H. 2008. "Governance, the State, and Systemic Corruption: Armenia and Georgia in Comparison”, in: Caucasian Review of International Affairs 2: 1-11.

George, Julie A. and Christoph H. Stefes. 2008. "The Fate of Georgian Democracy”, in: Current History 107: 344-47.

Stefes, Christoph H. 2006. Understanding Post-Soviet Transitions: Corruption, Collusion and Clientelism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Barrios, Harald and Christoph H. Stefes (eds.) 2006. Einführung in die Comparative Politics. Munich: Oldenbourg Verlag.

Stefes, Christoph H. 2005. "Clash of Institutions: Clientelism and Corruption vs. Rule of Law”, in: Christopher P. M. Waters (ed.) The State of Law in the South Caucasus. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan: 3-19.

Sisk, Timothy und Christoph H. Stefes. 2005. "Power Sharing as an Interim Step in Peace Building: Lessons from South Africa for Other Divided Societies”, in: Donald Rothchild und Phil G. Roeder (eds.) Sustainable Peace. Power and Democracy after Civil Wars. Ithaca: Cornell University Press: 341-72. 

Courses Taught

• PSC 3022: Introduction to Comparative Politics
• PSC 4085/5085: Comparative Public Policy
• PSC 4105/5105: Comparative Politics: Europe
• PSC 4126: Introduction to International Political Economy
• PSC 4185: Corruption in the U.S. and Abroad
• PSC 4225/5225: Democracy and Democratization
• PSC 4505: The Post-Soviet World
• PSC 5000: State of the Discipline