Personal profile
Curriculum
Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz is Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science (IPW) at Leuphana University. His research interests include international organizations and the comparative study of regional integration processes. In his ongoing research, he analyzes factors influencing the institutional design of regional organizations over time, the influence of EU institutions on other regional organizations, and the dynamics of self-legitimation in regional organizations.
Tobias Lenz is currently head of a Leibniz Junior Research Group entitled “Sources and Consequences of Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organisations” (LegRO) funded by the Leibniz Association at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg. He has recently completed a project funded by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony under its Research Cooperation Lower Saxony-Israel program on the impact of organizational overlap on the authority of international organizations (together with Yoram Haftel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem). He has held fellowships and visiting positions at the European University Institute, the Free University of Amsterdam, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Free University of Berlin. He obtained his doctorate (PhD) in International Relations at Oxford University in 2012. More information about Tobias Lenz can be found here.
- since 03/2020: Professor of International Relations, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
- 09/2019 – 02/2020: Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Leibniz Junior Research Group “Sources and Consequences of Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organizations” (LegRO), German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, Germany
- 09/2015 – 08/2016: Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow, European University Institute, Florence, Italy
- 12/2013 – 08/019: Assistant Professor (Juniorprofessor) of Global Governance and Comparative Regionalism, University of Goettingen and German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, Germany
- 12/2011 – 11/2013: Postdoctoral fellow on the ERC project “Causes and Consequences of Multilevel Governance”, directed by Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks, Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 2007 – 2012: Dr.Phil in International Relations, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, United Kingdom (defended in Nov. 2011)
- 2005 – 2007: M.Phil in Politics: European Politics and Society, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, United Kingdom
- 2001 – 2004: BA in European Studies, University of Osnabrück, Germany
Education/Academic qualification
International Relations, Doctorate , University of Oxford
01.10.2007 → 18.05.2012
Award Date: 18.05.2012
European Politics and Society, Master, University of Oxford
01.10.2005 → 30.06.2007
Award Date: 30.06.2007
European Studies, Bachelor, Osnabrück University
01.10.2001 → 30.09.2004
Award Date: 30.09.2004
Keywords
- Politics
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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Research collaborations from the last five years
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Souverän: Party Competition, Populism, and Sovereignty Transfer to International Organizations
Lenz, T. (Project manager, academic) & Burilkov, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.26 → 31.03.29
Project: Research
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The Authority of International Organizations and Institutional Overlap
Lenz, T. (Project manager, academic) & Haftel, Y. Z. (Project manager, academic)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the state of Lower Saxony in Germany
01.03.20 → 28.02.23
Project: Research
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LegRO: Sources and Consequences of Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organizations
Lenz, T. (Project manager, academic)
01.06.18 → 30.06.24
Project: Research
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Diffusing the EU Model? The European Union’s Influence on Regional Organizations
Lenz, T. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.15 → 31.12.17
Project: Research
Research output
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Institutional Change
Lenz, T., 2026, IPSA Companion to Political Science: A Practical Introduction to the 200 Most Important Concepts. Stockemer, D., Sawyer, S. & Gagnon, A. (eds.). Springer Verlag, 4 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
Open Access -
The Evolution of Comparative Regionalism: A New Typology
Lenz, T. & Söderbaum, F., 01.03.2026, Essays on Global Regionalism: The Past, Present and Future of Regionalism Studies: Die Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft von Regionalismusstudien. Acharya, A., Futák-Campbell, B., Iroulo, L. C. & Peixoto Batista , J. (eds.). Springer, Vol. 30. p. 345–354 10 p. (United Nations University Series on Regionalism; vol. 30).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Comparative Regionalism beyond Europe versus the Rest
Lenz, T. & Söderbaum, F., 01.09.2025, In: Review of International Studies. 51, 5, p. 889-905 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Expanding or defending legitimacy? Why international organizations intensify self-legitimation
Schmidtke, H. & Lenz, T., 10.2024, In: Review of International Organizations. 19, 4, p. 753-784 32 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access17 Citations (Scopus) -
Globalising the Study of Diffusion: Multiple Sources and the East African Community
Lenz, T. & Reiss, M., 10.2024, In: Journal of European Public Policy. 31, 11, p. 3703-3731 29 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
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Leuphana Center for Cooperative Security (LCCS) (Organisational unit)
Lenz, T. (Chair)
2026 → …Activity: Membership › Leuphana academic councils and committees › Leuphana Academic Committees
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Leuphana Center for Cooperative Security (LCCS) (Organisational unit)
Lenz, T. (Chair)
2026 → …Activity: Membership › Leuphana academic councils and committees › Leuphana Academic Committees
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Professorship of International Relations (Organisational unit)
Lenz, T. (Chair)
01.10.2025 → 30.09.2027Activity: Membership › Leuphana academic councils and committees › Leuphana Academic Committees
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Diskursreihe Ethik im Gespräch
Kück, T. (Speaker) & Lenz, T. (Speaker)
08.05.2025Activity: Talk or presentation › talk or presentation in privat or public events › Research
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How Overlap Interacts with Delegation: Evidence from the Complex of Economic Organizations
Lenz, T. (Oral presentation)
02.04.2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Guest lectures › Research
Prizes
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Abbey-Santander Award
Lenz, T. (Recipient), 2009
Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Carlo Schmid-Programm
Lenz, T. (Recipient), 2004
Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Cyril Foster Award
Lenz, T. (Recipient), 2009
Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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European Union fellow am Colorado European Union Center of Excellence
Lenz, T. (Recipient), 2011
Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Lehrpreis der Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften
Lenz, T. (Recipient), 2019
Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Education
Press/Media
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Die Gemeinschaft Südostasiatischer Staaten: Interview mit Tobias Lenz
03.11.17
1 Media contribution
Press/Media
Datasets
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Measure of International Authority (MIA)
Lenz, T. (Creator), Marks, G. (Creator) & Hooghe, L. (Creator), Oxford University Press, 2017
http://garymarks.web.unc.edu/data/international-authority/
Dataset
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Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organizations (LegRO)
Lenz, T. (Creator), GESIS Data Archive for the Social Sciences, 2022
DOI: 10.7802/2450, https://search.gesis.org/research_data/SDN-10.7802-2450?doi=10.7802/2450
Dataset