Dirk Lehmkuhl

European Public Policy

European External Relations

Social Innovation

Populism and Foreign Policy

ISSICEU – Intra-and Inter-Societal Sources of
Instability in the Caucasus and EU Opportunities to Respond

ISSICEU was an international research project led by Prof. Dirk Lehmkuhl and Dr. Katharina Hoffmann from the Center for Governance and Culture at the University of St. Gallen (2014-2016). It stems from a successful bid for a call of the European Commission on “Security and democracy in the neighborhood: The case of the Caucasus”. The project is funded by the Framework Seven program of the European Union with 1.6 Mio Euro and involves a consortium of eight partners: GeoWel Research (Georgia); Kabardino-Balkarian State University (Russian Federation); Khazar University (Azerbaijan); Russian State University for the Humanities (Russian Federation); SWP - German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Germany); APM - Ankara Politikalar Merkezi (Turkey); University of Fribourg (Switzerland).

EU-Strat. The EU and Eastern Partnership countries - an inside-out analysis and strategic assessment.

EU-STRAT was  an international research project that studies the relationship between the European Union and the countries in the European Eastern neighborhood (2016-2019). The main ambition of EU-STRAT is to provide an inside-out analysis and strategic assessment of the links between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries. EU-STRAT will address two main questions: First, why has the EU fallen short of creating peace, prosperity and stability in its Eastern neighbourhood? And second, what can be done to strengthen the EU’s transformative power in supporting political and economic change in the six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries? The University of St. Gallen participated with Prof. Dirk Lehmkuhl, Dr. Katharina Hoffmann and Dr. Ole Frahm.

Center for Governance and Culture in Europe (GCE-HSG) https://csi.unisg.ch/

Dirk Lehmkuhl is founder and co-director of Center for Governance and Culture in Europe (GCE-HSG) . The GCE-HSG examines social, economic, political, governmental and cultural transformations in Europe from an interdisciplinary and transnational perspective. It aims at raising the profile of interdisciplinary European research at the University of St. Gallen and at fostering international collaboration with like-minded research institutions across Europe. Our research on governance systems and cultures addresses forms and patterns of interaction in which a variety of public and private actors shape public policy making and societal behavior in general.

As part of the cooperation between the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and the GCE-HSG, Dirk Lehmkuhl sits on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Advanced Studies in Sofia, Bulgaria, and on the Board of Trustees of the New Europe College in Bucharest, Romania.

Competence Center for Social Innovation (CSI-HSG) https://csi.unisg.ch/  

Dirk Lehmkuhl is co-founder and member of the steering committee of the Competence Center for Social Innovation at the University of St. Gallen (CSI-HSG). The CSI-HSG catalyzes social innovation and strives towards systems change. We empower people and organizations to work collaboratively towards the SDGs. We actively shape a future in which all people across sectors and levels of society have the resources, mindset, tools and skills to act towards a sustainable world – and do so. We facilitate learning through action to bridge rationalities and co-create knowledge and innovative, impactful solutions. We strengthen social innovation ecosystems in Switzerland and beyond by collaborating across the public and private sectors, civil society and academia. Our approach is open and collaborative, bringing together a range of stakeholders, including public sector entities, the private sector and civil society organizations in pursuit of meaningful progress on the SDGs. We are a facilitator for impact, catalyzing social innovation/systems change by enabling impact-oriented collaboration and learning across all levels and sectors of society.