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Dr. Carolyn Moser conducts research in the field of international and European law and governance, with a special focus on security and defense in Europe. Her independent Max Planck research group ENSURE (European Security Revisited), which deals with the law and governance of European security in the new geopolitical age in an interdisciplinary way (law & political science), also bears witness to this thematic orientation. In paralell, she holds the prestigious Alfred Grosser Chair at Sciences Po Paris. Dr Moser is furthermore the editor of the comment section of the Heidelberg Journal of International Law (ZaöRV).
Her key peer reviewed publications include a prize-winning monograph on Accountability in EU Security and Defence (Oxford University Press, 2020) and a co-edited book on The Legal Framework of the OSCE (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Her most recent publications feature an in-depth analysis of on the prerogatives of the European Parliament in the field of European Security and Defense Policy and an interdisciplinary article on the (de)constitutionalization by the European Court of Justice with a focus on security policies (ICON, 2022).
Dr Moser received several awards and distinctions for her research, notably the Otto-Hahn-Medal and the European Court of Auditors Award. Moreover, she has successfully obtained prestigious funding for her research, including multi-year project funding from the German government, a Minerva Fast Track Fellowship from the Max Planck Society for outstanding postdocs, and funding for an independent Max Planck Group that is equivalent in scope to an ERC Consolidator Grant. Her Alfred Grosser Chair at Sciences Po is sponsored by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.
Her interdisciplinary expertise is solicited also beyond academic circles, for instance by national, EU, and international institutions (eg German Parliament; German Foreign Office; European Parliament; OSCE; World Bank) and in the media (French and German outlets; print, radio, TV).
As regards her academic background, she was trained in both law and political science at Sciences Po Paris and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University, USA), and holds a PhD from Utrecht University on EU civilian crisis management. Moreover, her projects led her to conduct research at the Basel Institute on Governance, the European University Institute in Florence, and the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. From 2019 to 2022, she headed the Borderlines group at the MPIL in Heidelberg.
Book reviews
Reading recommendations
Carolyn Moser gives Euronews an insightful commentary on the evolution of Franco-German relations in the context of the war in Ukraine and the approaching European elections. Published in French in an online article and a video explainer by Amandine Hess on 5 May 2024
Expert interview with Michaela Hutterer on the necessity of revisiting security and defence in Europe, Newsroom of the Max Planck Society (4/2024)
Expert interview with the regional public broadcaster in Bavaria, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), on the bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. Published in an online article by Barbara Kostolnik on 16 February 2024.
Security expert Carolyn Moser speaks to Der Tagesspiegel about the dangers of Europe's current security dependence on the US. Published in an online article by Olga Konsevych on 27 November 2023
Carolyn Moser provides expert insights to Karina Chabour on European defence (industrial) matters in the TV programme 'La semaine de l'éco', broadcasted by France 24 on 17 November 2023. A video recording is available here (in French language).
Carolyn Moser gives an expert interview to Bastien Boname for the French online magazine C'actus, published in an in-depth article on European defence industrial matters on 26 September 2023
In this episode of the Max Planck Lawcast, streamed on 26 September 2023, Christopher Murphy holds a captivating discussion with Carolyn Moser. In their conversation, they shed light on security and defence in the European Union (EU), with a particular focus on the transformative impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Against this backdrop, the interview navigates the intriguing confluence of factors that are currently shaping the EU’s law and policy response to the evolving and increasingly challenging geopolitical landscape. The podcast is available here.
Carolyn Moser provides expert input on the potential extradition of Ukrainian citizens by Ireland to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Published in an online fact checking article on 18 September 2023.
Carolyn Moser shares expert insights into the legal aspects of the recent European sanctions imposed on Russia, particularly regarding the potential impact on Russian citizens travelling to the European Union with the French news service Libération. Published in an online article on 14 September 2023.
Expert interview with Jochen Schlenk and Maximilian Steinbeis on the rules and regulations regarding German (and European) defence, published in October 2022, available here.
Interview with Julia Weigelt for the NDR Info Podcast 'Streitkräfte und Strategien' (armed forces and strategies) about the geopolitical awakening in Europe and the EU in the wake of the war in Ukraine, streamed on 19th September 2022, available online (in German) here
Watch the video on the MPIL's Youtube channel
(own input starting at 29'20)
Panel discussion (in German language) held on 21 September 2021 with Carlo Masala (Bundeswehr University, Munich), Anne Peters (MPIL) and Christian Marxsen (MPIL) about the legal and political parameters of German foreign and security policy, and the challenges in this policy field the German government resulting from the 2021 general elections is likely to face.
Interview with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRF) on migration, border control and in particular Frontex, streamed on 3 June 2021 and available as podcast
Watch the video on the MPIL's Youtube channel
Only three weeks after the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and the EU came into force, the first serious diplomatic incident occurred: on 21 January 2021, the British government refused to grant the EU delegation in London, including its head João Vale de Almeida, diplomatic status under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. In her lecture of 21 April 2021, Dr Carolyn Moser briefly outlines the rules of international law on the granting of privileges and immunities, analyses the international legal status of the EU and discusses the British position.
On 5 May 2021, London ultimately granted diplomatic status under the Vienna Convention to the EU envoy, who is now treated as the representative of a state.
Watch the video on the MPIL's Youtube channel
In this lecture from September 2020, Dr Carolyn Moser explains how France dealt with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. She analyses the French government's legal and regulatory responses to COVID-19, in particular the new state of emergency (état d'urgence sanitaire) and issues of democratic participation and judicial review. In her presentation, she shows how the response to the pandemic has strengthened central (constitutional) legal characteristics of the French Republic: Centralism, strong executive power, limited parliamentary control and legal protection by administrative courts.
Interviewee, radio feature (in German language) by Christian Jakob, RBB Kultur, 16.12.2020, audio recording
Contributor to a radio programme on the international law and politics edited by Brigitte Voykowitsch [in German], ORF Radiokolleg, 24 – 27 February 2020
digital
(further information)Paris
(further information)Paul-Löbe-Haus Berlin
video recording; 01:29:10Lausanne
Berlin, Federal Foreign Office
Paris
Trier / digital
Bonn
Stuttgart/Hybrid
video recordingFrankfurt
Luxemburg
Digital
Bremen/digital
Frankfurt a.M.
Salamanca
Paris
Karlsruhe
Brussels
Digital
Online
A video recording of the talk available here (at 2:20)Online
Online format
Online seminar
Web-Conference
Webinar
Video recording (in German)Berlin
Sciences Po, Paris
Munich
Heidelberg
Gießen
Heidelberg
Paris
Brussels
Video recording of the talkFiesole
Berlin
Bilbao
Heidelberg
Munich
Heidelberg
Utrecht
Heidelberg
Utrecht
60 ans du traité de l'Elysée, panelist, Paris, 28.09.2023 - 29.09.2023
XXII Walter Hallstein-Symposium on ‘The Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU—Perspectives from Member States’, key-note speaker, Frankfurt (Main), 30.03.2023 - 31.03.2023
PROFUTURE, participant in the author workshop held in the context of the international publication project led by by Zulima Sanchéz, Salamanca, Spain, 27.06.2022 - 29.06.2022
ISA 2021 Annual Convention, Discussant in the panel on 'Shifting Borders in the Time of Covid-19', Online, 07.04.2021 - 07.04.2021
'The transnational politics of emergency', online workshop, speaker, WZB Berlin, 19.06.2020
'What Legal Framework for the OSCE?', a Book Launch Conversation with Nils Blokker, Cornelius von Friesendorf, Jan Klabbers and Carolyn Moser, Panel Chair, Berlin , 25.10.2019
ESIL Annual Conference, participant, Athens, 12.09.2019 - 14.09.2019
European Initiative on Security Studies (EISS), 3rd Annual Conference, speaker, Sciences Po, Paris, 27.06.2019 - 28.06.2019
'Areas of Exclusion'-conference of the Research Initiative on Migration (WiMi) of the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Munich, 17.06.2019
Workshop 'The European Union’s "New Defence Policy": European Military Integration in an Interdisciplinary Perspective', speaker, Justus Liebig University, Gießen, 17.01.2019 - 18.01.2019
'Max Planck Trialogue Workshop on the Law of Peace and War – Vol. IV: Intervention by Invitation', participant, Heidelberg, 08.11.2018 - 09.11.2018
'Le traité de Versailles. Regards franco-allemands en droit international à l'occasion du centenaire', participant, Strasbourg, 28.09.2018 - 29.09.2018
Franco-German colloquium 'Le droit à un recours effectif—regards croisés', presenter, Paris, 07.09.2018 - 08.09.2018
'Warum befolgen wir Recht? Rechtsverbindlichkeit und Rechtsbefolgung in interdisziplinärer Perspektive', participant, Heidelberg, 26.03.2018 - 27.03.2018
RENFORCE guest lecture by Dr. Florin Coman Kund on the new legal framework for Europol's international exchanges of data, commentator , Utrecht, 05.02.2018
'Conflict and Compromise—Between Law and Politics in EU Migration and Asylum Policies', Odysseus Annual Conference, speaker in the panel 'International Responsibility for the Cooperation of the EU and its Members States with the Libyan Coastguards?', Brussels, 01.02.2018
'Max Planck Trialogue Workshop on the Law of Peace and War—Vol. III: Reparations for Victims of Armed Conflict', participant, Berlin, 10.11.2017 - 11.11.2017
'The Politicization of Europe: Transnational Solidarity Conflicts and the Changing Structure of Economic Governance in the EU', Panel discussion with Anuscheh Farahat, Marius Hildebrand and Mark Dawson, participant, Berlin, 09.11.2017
'Constitutionality, powers and legitimacy of EU agencies or agency-like bodies', participant, Fiesole, 10.11.2016 - 11.11.2016
'Between Aspirations and Realities: Strengthening the Legal Framework of the OSCE', convener (together with Anne Peters and Mateja Steinbrück Platise), Berlin, 13.07.2016
PhD@maxlaw Workshop ‘16, 2nd Max Planck Young Legal Scholars’ Meeting, presenter (poster presentation), Hamburg, 12.05.2016 - 13.05.2016
UACES 45th Annual Conference, chair of the panel 'Transparency and Accountability in EU Decision‐making', Bilbao, 07.09.2015 - 09.09.2015
'Apprendre à repenser le droit international'—Masterclass with Professor Emmanuelle Tourme-Jouannet, discussant, Heidelberg, 04.05.2015 - 06.05.2015
'NewGen Accountability Workshop' held by the Utrecht University School of Governance, presenter, Utrecht, 10.11.2014
'Cricital Studies of International Law'—Masterclass with Professor Martti Koskenniemi, presenter, Heidelberg, 29.04.2014 - 02.05.2014
'Gagner la paix : Approches vers une solution durable au Mali', colloque, participant, Berlin, 31.01.2014
'Rule of Law and Accountability in Peacekeeping'—German Peace Operations Research Workshop 2014, jointly organized by DGVN, FES and ZIF, participant, Berlin, 28.01.2014
'Good Accountability (and Governance) Workshop - New International Perspectives on Accountability at the USG', presenter, Utrecht, 13.12.2013
'Towards A Global History of International Law' (Institute for Advanced Study), workshop, participant, Berlin, 01.02.2013
20th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum—'Promoting Security and Stability through Good Governance', rapporteur, Prague, 12.09.2012 - 14.09.2012
Third Summer Academy Freiburg on the 'Dynamics of institutional change under the EU's toolkit of conditionality—Judicial reform and fighting corruption in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and Turkey', panel chair, Freiburg (D), 31.08.2012 - 03.09.2012
Member of the German Society of International Law (in German: DGIR)