Welcome 

Hi, I am Maria Ketzmerick-Calandrino (she/her), an international relations scholar specializing in peace, conflict, and security, with a focus on its historical reverberations. I am a postdoctoral researcher in the CRAFTE project at Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) Berlin. Before joining ZMO, I was a lecturer at the Chair for Sociology of Africa and a Principal Investigator in the "Postcolonial Hierarchies Network" at the University of Bayreuth. I studied Political Science, International Law, and Global Studies at the University of Münster, IEP Lyon, Roskilde University, and Leipzig University, before completing my doctorate as a researcher at the collaborative research center "Dynamics of Security" / Center for Conflict Studies at the University of Marburg.

My research focuses on post/decolonial security studies, historical and sociological international relations at regional, transnational, and global levels, and (global) peace and conflict research. I aim to contribute to an understanding of the ambivalent and complex interrelationships between locally rooted social dynamics, transnational politics, and global change. Empirically, I explore situations where (social) orders are continuously (re)negotiated and examine how these orders are embedded in historical and geographical interdependencies within a globalized context. These dynamics span from decolonization and the Global Cold War to contemporary social conflicts. Methodologically, I primarily use qualitative approaches, drawing on archival research and interviews, while also exploring mixed methods within digital humanities.

Besides research, I am a passionate teacher and strive to create a welcoming and empathetic classroom atmosphere where all students feel encouraged to pursue their individual research interests. I also co-chair the DVPW working group on "Gewaltordnungen" / "Orders of Violence" with Dr. Mariam Salehi and, together with Dr. Luis Aue, curate the section "(Post-)Socialist Internationalism: Witnessing, Theorizing, and (Re-)Crafting International Relations of the Global East" at EISA 2025 in Bologna. Additionally, my work informs policy advice for ministries, think tanks, NGOs, political foundations, and development agencies.