Frederik Schissler

Doctoral Researcher

Frederik Schissler is a Docto­ral Researcher in the Research Group Peace­keeping and Conflict Manage­ment through the United Nations in the Research Depart­ment Inter­national Insti­tutions. His research focuses on the UN peace bureau­cracy and the future of peace­keeping.

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schissler(at)prif.org
 Press photo

CV

| since 2025
Docto­ral Researcher at PRIF

| 2024–2025
Student Assis­tant at Goethe Uni­versity Frankfurt / Research Center Trans­formations of Political Vio­lence (TraCe)

| 2022–2025
Student Assis­tant at PRIF / Research Center Trans­formations of Politi­cal Vio­lence (TraCe)

| 2022–2025
Master's degree in Peace and Con­flict Studies, Goethe Uni­versity Frank­furt and TU Darm­stadt

| 2022
Trainer at Service­stelle Friedens­bildung Baden-Württem­berg

| 2020
Erasmus+ stay at Uni­versity of St Andrews, Scotland

| 2018–2022
Bachelor's degree in politi­cal science and public law, Eber­hard Karl Uni­versity of Tübingen

PhD Project

For a long time, the United Nations was widely regarded as the central actor in multi­lateral conflict manage­ment. Yet the number of UN-led peace opera­tions has been in steady decline. Contem­porary debates increasingly focus on regional organi­sations rather than the UN, or on ad hoc arrange­ments outside any established insti­tutional framework.

This disser­tation examines how the roles of four Inter­national Organisations engaged in multi­lateral peace operations — the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, and the Organisation for Security and Co-­operation in Europe (OSCE) — have changed over time. Its theo­retical aim is to develop a theory of role change in International Organisations, identi­fying the conditions under which orga­nisations change their roles and the mecha­nisms through which such changes occur.

To address these questions, the project harmo­nises existing datasets on peace operations, en­abling systematic comparison of the man­dates and operational practices of all missions in which the four orga­nisations have been involved. Official documents, archival materials, Member State state­ments, and interviews are used to trace role-change pro­cesses and assess the condi­tions under which they take place.

Publications

  • The internationalization of intrastate conflict
    | 2026
    Schissler, Frederik; Pfeifer, Hanna; Ruhe, Constantin; Schwab, Regine; Wolff, Jonas (2026): The internationalization of intrastate conflict. A network perspective on empirical evidence and theoretical explanations, Cooperation and Conflict, Online first. DOI: 10.1177/00108367251413148

  • The Internationalization of Intrastate Conflict: Are Civil Wars Transforming?
    | 2026
    Pfeifer, Hanna; Schissler, Frederik; Schwab, Regine; Wolff, Jonas (2026): The Internationalization of Intrastate Conflict: Are Civil Wars Transforming?, in: Bonacker, Thorsten; Daase, Christopher; Driedger, Jonas J.; Lam Phương, Nguyễn Phạm; Pfister, Jannik (eds), Routledge Handbook on Transformations of Political Violence, London: Routledge, 34–49. DOI: 10.4324/9781003635024-4
  • Institutionelle Friedenssicherung: Reform oder Abstieg. Die Vereinten Nationen am Scheideweg
    | 2026
    Bethke, Felix; Hach, Sascha; Kroll, Stefan; Leonhard, Lucas Kori; Mathez, Myriel; Schissler, Frederik; Speyer, Johanna; Yuan, Xinju (2026): Institutionelle Friedenssicherung: Reform oder Abstieg. Die Vereinten Nationen am Scheideweg, in: Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC)/Leibniz-Institut Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (PRIF)/Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik an der Universität Hamburg (IFSH)/Institut für Entwicklung und Frieden (INEF) (eds), Friedensgutachten 2026, Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 115–129.
    Publication

  • A Fair World Begins with a Fair Map: The UN Adopts Equal Earth Projection
    | 2026
    Mathez, Myriel J; McKee, Sarah; Birchinger, Sophia; Schissler, Frederik (2026): A Fair World Begins with a Fair Map: The UN Adopts Equal Earth Projection, PRIF Blog, Frankfurt/M..
    Publication
  • Zwischen Selbstbild und Wirklichkeit: Was Deutschlands UN-Niederlage wirklich offenbart
    | 2026
    Schissler, Frederik (2026): Zwischen Selbstbild und Wirklichkeit: Was Deutschlands UN-Niederlage wirklich offenbart, PRIF Blog.
    Publication

  • Reform or Decline: The United Nations at a Crossroads
    | 2026
    Yuan, Xinyu; Hach, Sascha; Leonhard, Lucas Kori; Mathez, Myriel Julie; Schissler, Frederik; Speyer, Johanna; Bethke, Felix; Kroll, Stefan (2026): Reform or Decline: The United Nations at a Crossroads, PRIF Working Paper, 73, Frankfurt/M.
  • The Internationalization of Armed Intrastate Conflict: A Systematic Assessment of the State of Research, Data, and Explanations
    | 2026
    Schissler, Frederik; Bethke, Felix; Pfeifer, Hanna; Ruhe, Constantin; Schwab, Regine; Wolff, Jonas (2026): The Internationalization of Armed Intrastate Conflict: A Systematic Assessment of the State of Research, Data, and Explanations, TraCe Working Paper, 7, Frankfurt/Main.

Further Activities

2025–2026 Member of the Board of Deutsche Model United Nations e.V.

  • “In the shadow of Security Council paralysis: UN agency in conflict management” 09.09.2026, ECPR General Conference. Together with Xinyu Yuan and Myriel J. Mathez.
  • “'Everybody knows the Charta is aspirational' The United Staff for Gaza initiative.” 02.07.2026, EWIS 2026, Izmir (Türkiye). Together with Myriel J. Mathez.
  • “What future role for the United Nations in international conflict management?” 26.02.2026, ECIB – 18. Early Career Tagung Internationale Beziehungen, Tutzing (Germany).

  • Consultation Office Ralf Stegner, MdB: “(UN)wichtig? Die Zukunft der Vereinten Nationen in globalen Krisen und Großmachtpolitik” with Myriel J. Mathez.