Dr Bernhard Blumenau
Senior Lecturer
Dr Bernhard Blumenau is a Senior Lecturer in International History and Politics at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV). He is interested in the history of terrorism at large. More specifically, his fields of research include German terrorism and antiterrorism policies, the links between terrorism and the Cold War, as well as multilateral antiterrorism efforts and the role that international organisations have played in them. He is currently working on a new research project on the long history of state terrorism, from the Middle Ages until today.
Dr Blumenau holds degrees from the University of Dresden (Germany) and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland). During his studies he also spent one year at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden). He is fluent in German, English, and French; and is a Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland as well as is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). Prior to his appointment at the University of St Andrews in 2015, he was a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and was Visiting Lecturer at the Graduate Institute and the School of International Studies at the University of Dresden.
Monographs
Edited Books
Editorship of Special Journal Issues
Special issue of Studies in Conflict & Terrorism on “States and Terrorism: Historical Perspectives”. Vol. 43, issue no. 1, 2020.
Peer-reviewed Articles
From punishment to pre-emption: the changing nature of regional organizations’ legal responses to terrorism, 1990-2010 Blumenau, B., 10 Jul 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. Latest Articles, 27 p.
Breaking with convention? Zeitenwende and the traditional pillars of German foreign policy Blumenau, B., 1 Nov 2022, In: International Affairs. 98, 6, p. 1895–1913 19 p., iiac166.
International organisations and terrorism: multilateral antiterrorism efforts, 1960-1990 Blumenau, B., 1 Nov 2022, In: International Affairs. 98, 6, p. 1895–1913 19 p., iiac166.
Unholy Alliance: The Connection between the East German Stasi and the Right-Wing Terrorist Odfried Hepp.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 43, no. 1 (2020), 47-68.
Book Chapters
The History of Terrorism Blumenau, B. & Wilson, T., 2022, Contemporary Terrorism Studies. Muro, D. & Wilson, T. (eds.). Oxford University Press
Nationalism, Terrorism, and the State – Historical Perspectives.’ in The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism. Edited by Cathie Carmichael, Matthew D’Auria, and Aviel Roshwald. Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2023.
‘Terrorism, History and Neighbouring Disciplines in the Academy.’ In The Cambridge History of Terrorism. Edited by Richard English, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2021.
‘Keeping up Appearances: Facades and Facts of Multilateral Antiterrorism Cooperation during the Cold War’ in In the Shadow of The Cold War. International Terrorism in Eastern and Western Europe, edited by P. Gasztold, T. W. Friis, Institute of National Remembrance Publishing House [Wydawnictwo Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej], Warsaw forthcoming 2021.
“German Foreign Policy and the ‘German Problem’ During and After the Cold War: Changes and Continuities.” In New Perspectives on the End of the Cold War: Unexpected Transformations? Edited by Bernhard Blumenau, Jussi Hanhimäki and Barbara Zanchetta. London: Routledge: 2018.
“Einsam oder doch Gemeinsam? Bundesdeutsche und Westeuropäische Anti-Terrorismus-Politik in den Vereinten Nationen.” In Terrorismusbekämpfung in Westeuropa: Demokratie und Sicherheit in den 1970er und 1980er Jahren, edited by Johannes Hürter. Munich: Oldenbourg, 2014.
“The United Nations and West Germany’s Efforts against International Terrorism in the 1970s.” In: Hanhimäki, Jussi and Bernhard Blumenau (eds.). An International History of Terrorism: Western and Non-Western Experiences. London: Routledge, 2013.
“West Germany and the United States during the Middle East Crisis of 1973: ‘Nothing but a Semi-Colony’?. In: Hanhimäki, Jussi, Georges-Henri Soutou and Basil Germond (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Transatlantic Security. London: Routledge, 2010.
“Deutschland und die europäische Rüstungskooperation: Perspektiven für einen hochsensiblen Politikbereich”. Together with Joris Larik, Felix Groba and Dana Rosen. In: Niemann, Arne and Alexander Brand (eds.).
Aktuelle Probleme deutscher und europäischer Außenpolitik: Interessen und Handlungsspielräume. Dresden: TUDpress, 2007.
Book Reviews
Review of M. Toaldo, The Origins of the US War on Terror. Lebanon, Libya and American intervention in the Middle East. London, New York: Routledge, 2013. Journal of Cold War Studies, 2015, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 186–188.
Other Pertinent Publications
IR5922
Terrorism after 1945
This module will provide students with an overview of the evolution, characteristics, and decline of terrorist movements and campaigns since 1945 by looking at different forms of terrorism (ethnic, religious, social-revolutionary) as well as the responses that both states and international organisations have developed in order to cope with it. The module will also address state and state-sponsored terrorism and the problems that arise once a state actor is involved in terrorism. Moreover, it will examine why and under what circumstances terrorism and antiterrorism responses have been successful. Finally, students will take part in a simulation of UN antiterrorism negotiations in which they will represent a country, research this country’s experience with and stance on terrorism and advance the respective government’s key interest regarding a comprehensive UN antiterrorism convention.
IR5952
Research Methods (Distance Learning)
PhD Supervision Topics
Dr Blumenau is interested in supervising students working on:
• The History of Terrorism and Political Violence
• State Terrorism
• State Sponsorship of Terrorism
• Antiterrorism
• International Organisations
• The Cold War
• German Foreign Policy
Dr Blumenau is one of the School’s Study Abroad Coordinators.
He is Reviewer for the following journals: Terrorism and Political Violence, Contemporary European History, Polish Political Science Yearbook, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, International History Review, International Journal of Military History and Historiography, Journal of Terrorism Research, Cooperation and Conflict, Democracy and Security, German Politics and Society. He has also reviewed manuscript proposals for the following publishers: Columbia University Press, Manchester University Press, Pluto Press, Routledge
Dr Blumenau has received several grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Fondation Pierre du Bois pour l’histoire du temps présent.