Areas of Expertise

Stabilization policy
Democratization
Autocratic systems

Short Bio

Marco Schäfer is an associate fellow in DGAP’s Center for Security and Defense. From August 2022 until June 2024 he was involved in the project “Civilian Stabilization and the Peace-Security Nexus” there, which was funded by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. He first worked as a research assistent and then, as of August 2023, as a research fellow. His research focuses on German stabilization policy with a focus on authoritarian regimes and democratization processes.

As an associate fellow, he deals with the area of German stabilization policy in the Sahel.

Before joining DGAP, Schäfer worked for various chairs and research institutes in the course of his studies. He also completed internships at the Federal Foreign Office, Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, and German Bundestag.

Schäfer holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Potsdam and a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Heidelberg University.