Prof. Dr. Sandra Destradi

• *Destradi, Sandra and Johannes Plagemann (forthcoming December 2025), Populism and Foreign Policy, New York: Oxford University Press
• *Destradi, Sandra (2023), Reluctance in World Politics, Bristol: Bristol University Press.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2012), Indian Foreign and Security Policy in South Asia: Regional Power Strategies, Abingdon und New York: Routledge.

• *Cadier, David, Angelos Chryssogelos, and Sandra Destradi (eds) (2025), Routledge Handbook of Populism and Foreign Policy. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
• *Plagemann, Johannes, Sandra Destradi, and Amrita Narlikar (eds) (2020), India Rising: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Foreign Policy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

• * Wajner, Daniel F. and Sandra Destradi (guest editors) (2024), special section ‘The Effects of Global Populism’, International Affairs 100 (5).

• *Destradi, Sandra and Johannes Vüllers (2024), Populism and the Liberal International Order: An Analysis of UN Voting Patterns, Review of International Organizations, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558- 024-09569-w.
• *Wajner, Daniel, Sandra Destradi, and Michael Zürn (2024), The Effects of Global Populism: Assessing the Populist Impact on International Affairs, International Affairs 100 (5), 1819–1833.
• *Destradi, Sandra and Johannes Plagemann (2024), Do Populists Escalate International Disputes?, International Affairs 100 (5), 1919-1940.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2023), Populism and Status-Seeking in World Politics, International Studies Review, https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viad035, 12-15.
• *Belder, Ferit, Sandra Destradi, Julia Gurol, Carlos Heras Rodríguez, Melih Kölük, Jameson Martins, Shaked Rogel and Swarati S. (2023), Patterns of Populist Mobilization: Comparing Narratives on COVID-19 in the Global South, International Affairs 99 (1): 337-355
• *Plagemann, Johannes, Carlos Heras Rodríguez, and Sandra Destradi (2022) Populist Foreign Policy and Mobilization in Bolivia, Política / Revista de Ciencia Política, 60 (2), 9-32.
• *Destradi, Sandra, Johannes Plagemann and Hakkı Taş (2022), Populism and the Politicization of Foreign Policy, in: British Journal of Politics and International Relations 24 (3): 475–492.
• *Destradi, Sandra, David Cadier and Johannes Plagemann (2021), Populism and Foreign Policy: A Research Agenda (Introduction), in: Comparative European Politics 19 (6): 663-682.
• *Sharma, Chanchal Kumar, Sandra Destradi and Johannes Plagemann (2020), Partisan Federalism and Subnational Governments’ International Engagements: Insights from India, in: Publius: Journal of Federalism, 50 (4): 566-592.
• *Destradi, Sandra and Johannes Plagemann (2019), Populism and International Relations: (Un-)Predictability, Personalization, and the Reinforcement of Existing Trends in World Politics, in: Review of International Studies 45 (5): 711-730.
• *Plagemann, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2019), Populism and Foreign Policy: The Case of India, in: Foreign Policy Analysis 15 (2): 283-301.
• *Kenkel, Kai Michael and Sandra Destradi (2019), Explaining Emerging Powers’ Reluctance to Adopt Intervention Norms: Normative Contestation and Hierarchies of Responsibility, in: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, 61 (2): e002, http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201900102.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2018), Reluctant Powers? Rising Powers’ Contributions to Regional Crisis anagement, in: Third World Quarterly 39 (12): 2222-2239.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2017), Reluctance in International Politics: A Conceptualization, in: European Journal of International Relations 23 (2): 315-340.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2017), India’s Reluctant Approach to R2P: Lessons from Perilous Interventions, in: Global Responsibility to Protect 9 (2): 229-236.
• *Plagemann, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2015), Soft Sovereignty, Rising Powers and Subnational Foreign Policy-Making: The Case of India, in: Globalizations 12 (5): 728-743.
• *Destradi, Sandra und Cord Jakobeit (2015), Global Governance Debates and Dilemmas: Emerging Powers’ Perspectives and Roles in Global Trade and Climate Governance, in: Strategic Analysis 39 (1): 60-72.
• *Vüllers, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2015), literature review: Gewaltfreie Widerstandsbewegungen und ihre Erfolgsbedingungen, in: Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung 4 (1): 115-146.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2015), Difficulties of Regional Cooperation for Afghanistan: An Alternative Interpretation, in: Strategic Analysis 39 (2): 123-140.
• Destradi, Sandra (2014), India: A Reluctant Partner for Afghanistan, in: The Washington Quarterly, 37, 2, 103-117.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2014), Regional Powers and Security Governance: ISAF Withdrawal, Regional Competition and Domestic Norms in India’s Afghanistan Policy, in: Asian Perspective 38 (4): 565-587.
• *Destradi, Sandra and Erich Gundlach (2014), Modeling External Constraints on the Hegemonic Strategies of Regional Powers, in: Journal of Policy Modeling, 36, Supplement 1, S6-S25.
• *Vüllers, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2013), Speech Is Silver, Silence Is Golden? The Consequences of Failed Mediation in Civil Wars, in: Civil Wars, 15, 4, 486-507.
• Destradi, Sandra (2013), Tiger oder Kätzchen: Indiens außenpolitische Debatten zeugen von andauernder Selbstfindung, in: Internationale Politik, 68, 5, 93-99.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2012), India and Sri Lanka’s Civil War: The Failure of Regional Conflict Management in South Asia, in: Asian Survey, 52, 3, 595-616.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2012), India as a Democracy Promoter? New Delhi’s Involvement in Nepal’s Return to Democracy, in: Democratization, 19, 2, 286-311.
• *Destradi, Sandra (2010), Regional Powers and Their Strategies: Empire, Hegemony, and Leadership, in: Review of International Studies, 36, 4, 903-930

• Destradi, Sandra (2025), The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), in Ulf Engel, Jens Herpolsheimer, and Frank Mattheis (eds), The Globalization Projects of Regional Organizations, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• Destradi, Sandra (2025), Populism, in Beate Jahn and Sebastian Schindler (eds), Elgar Encyclopedia of International Relations, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 300-301.
• Jumle, Vihang, Johannes Plagemann, Sandra Destradi, Elena Dressler, Alyssa Santiago, and Ronald Schleehauf (2025), Populism and the Centralisation of Foreign Policy Decision-Making: Paths and Patterns, in David Cadier, Angelos Chryssogelos, and Sandra Destradi (eds), Routledge Handbook of Populism and Foreign Policy, Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 233-250.
• Destradi, Sandra (2025), The Ideational Approach to Populism and the Study of Foreign Policy, in David Cadier, Angelos Chryssogelos, and Sandra Destradi (eds), Routledge Handbook of Populism and Foreign Policy, Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 17-33.
• Cadier, David, Sandra Destradi, and Angelos Chryssogelos (2025), Introduction, in David Cadier, Angelos Chryssogelos, and Sandra Destradi (eds), Routledge Handbook of Populism and Foreign Policy, Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 1-14.
• Destradi, Sandra, Vihang Jumle, and Alyssa Santiago (2023), Populist Foreign Policy in Asia, in Philip Giurlando and Daniel F. Wajner (eds), Populist Foreign Policy: Regional Perspectives on Populism in the International Scene, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 223-246.
• Destradi, Sandra, Johannes Plagemann, Ege Hüsemoglu, Vihang Jumle, Alyssa Santiago, and Ronald Schleehauf (2023). Populists’ Foreign Policy Rhetoric: More Confrontational, Less Consensual?, in Corina Lacatus, Gustav Meibauer, and Georg Löfflmann (eds) Political Communication and Performative Leadership. Cham: Springer International, 279–298.
• Destradi, Sandra and Julia Gurol (2022), South-South Cooperation: Between Cooperation on Eye-Level and Accusations of Neo-Colonialism, in Jürgen Rüland and Astrid Carrapatoso (eds), Handbook on Regionalism and Global Governance, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 160-170.
• Destradi, Sandra and Johannes Plagemann (2022). Ideology and Indian Foreign Policy, in Jonathan Leader Maynard and Mark L. Haas (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Ideology and International Relations. London: Routledge, 299-312.
• Destradi, Sandra and Christian von Soest (2020), Internationales Krisenmanagement, in: Frank Bösch, Nicole Deitelhoff und Stefan Kroll (eds), Handbuch Krisenforschung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 233-248.
• Plagemann, Johannes, Sandra Destradi and Amrita Narlikar (2020), Introduction: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in India’s Foreign Policy on the Global Level. A Framework for analysis, in: Johannes Plagemann, Sandra Destradi and Amrita Narlikar (eds), India Rising: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Foreign Policy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1-22.
• Plagemann, Johannes, Sandra Destradi and Amrita Narlikar (2020), Conclusion, in: Johannes Plagemann, Sandra Destradi and Amrita Narlikar (eds), India Rising: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Foreign Policy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 219-234.
• Destradi, Sandra (2020), The Finances of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in: Frank Mattheis and Ulf Engel (eds), The Finances of Regional Organisations in the South: Follow the Money. London: Routledge.
• Destradi, Sandra (2018), Towards a more Determined and Responsive Foreign Policy? Continuity and Change in India’s Foreign Policy under Prime Minister Modi, in: Michael Staack and David Groten (eds), China und Indien im regionalen und globalen Umfeld, Opladen: Barbara Budrich, 143-160.
• Destradi, Sandra (2017), Rising Powers in World Politics, in: Oxford Bibliographies in International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0193.
• Destradi, Sandra (2016), Germany’s Engagement in Afghanistan, in: Rajen Harshé and Dhananjay Tripathi (eds), Afghanistan Post-2014: Power Configurations and Emerging Trajectories, Neu-Delhi: Routledge, 131-149.
• Destradi, Sandra (2012), Die Analyse außenpolitischer Strategien von Regionalmächten, in: Daniel Flemes, Dirk Nabers and Detlef Nolte (eds), Macht, Führung und Regionale Ordnung. Theorien und Forschungsperspektiven, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 137-153.
• Destradi, Sandra (2010), Indiens Rolle im Demokratisierungsprozess in Nepal, in: Sebastian Buciak and Rüdiger van Dehn (eds), Indien und Pakistan – Atommächte im Spannungsfeld regionaler und globaler Veränderungen. Beiträge zur Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik Südasiens, Berlin: Köster, 161-191.

• Destradi, Sandra (2015), Reluctant Powers: A Concept-Building Approach and an Application to the Case of Germany, RSCAS Working Paper 2015/46, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute.
• Destradi, Sandra und Johannes Vüllers (2012), The Consequences of Failed Mediation in Civil Wars: Assessing the Sri Lankan Case, GIGA Working Paper 202, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra (2010), A Regional Power Promoting Democracy? India’s Involvement in Nepal (2005–2008), GIGA Working Paper 138, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra (2008), Empire, Hegemony, and Leadership: Developing a Research Framework for the Study of Regional Powers, GIGA Working Paper 79, Hamburg: GIGA.

• Destradi, Sandra, Detlef Nolte and Miriam Prys-Hansen (2018), Regional Powers Still Matter!, GIGA Focus Global, 02/2018, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Betz, Joachim, Sandra Destradi und Daniel Neff (2014), Wahlen in Indien 2014: Mandat für den Wandel, GIGA Focus Asien, 06/2014, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra (2014), Afghanistans Nachbarn und die Drohkulisse der „Null-Option“, GIGA Focus Global, 02/2014, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra and Eva Küssner (2013), Go South! Indien „entdeckt“ Afrika und Lateinamerika, GIGA Focus Asien, 2/2013, Hamburg: GIGA. Translated into English (Go South! India “Discovers” Africa and Latin America, GIGA Focus International Edition 4/2013).
• Destradi, Sandra, Nadine Godehardt and Alexander Frank (2012), Der ISAF-Rückzug aus Afghanistan: Wahrnehmung und Reaktion regionaler Mächte, GIGA Focus Global 7/2012, Hamburg: GIGA. Translated into English (GIGA Focus International Edition 5/2012) and Chinese (GIGA Focus International Edition Chinese 2/2012).
• Mokry, Sabine and Sandra Destradi (2011), Feindliche Freunde? Die indisch-chinesische Konkurrenz und Kooperation in Asien, GIGA Focus Asien 7/2011, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Vüllers, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2010), Mehr Engagierte, weniger Engagement? Die wachsende Komplexität internationaler Mediation, GIGA Focus Global 9/2010, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra and Andreas Mehler (2010), Wann, wie und warum enden Kriege? GIGA Focus Global 4/2010, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Beck, Gertraud, Sandra Destradi and Daniel Neff (2010), Neue Bundesstaaten in Indien – eine Gefahr für die nationale Einheit?, GIGA Focus Asien, 09/2010, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra (2009), Demokratischer Wandel in Südasien und die Rolle der Regionalmacht Indien, GIGA Focus Asien, 02/2009, Hamburg: GIGA.
• Destradi, Sandra (2009), Nach dem Bürgerkrieg — Welche Zukunft für Sri Lanka? GIGA Focus Asien 6/2009, Hamburg: GIGA.

• Sandra Destradi und Johannes Vüllers (2025), Populismus auf der Weltbühne, in: VEREINTE NATIONEN 4: 178-182, DOI: 10.35998/VN-2025-0021, https://zeitschrift-vereinte-nationen.de/suche/zvn/artikel/populismus-auf-der-weltbuehne
• Destradi, Sandra and Johannes Plagemann (2025), How unpredictable is Trump’s foreign policy, FACTS Asia, https://www.factsasia.org/blog/how-unpredictable-is-trumps-foreign-policy.
• Destradi, Sandra (2024), Qu’est-ce qu’une politique étrangère populiste?, Politique étrangère 242 (2): 49-60.
• Destradi, Sandra (2022). Muno, Wolfgang, und Christian Pfeiffer (Hrsg.) (2021): Populismus an der Macht. Strategien und Folgen populistischen Regierungshandelns (Rezension), Politische Vierteljahresschrift 63 (4): 751-753.
• Plagemann, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2020), The Foreign Policy of Populists, Horizons 15: 110-118.
• Plagemann, Johannes and Sandra Destradi (2019), What Modi Teaches Us about Populist Foreign Policy, East Asia Forum, 22. Februar, online: https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/02/22/what-modi-teaches-us-about-populist-foreign-policy/.
• Destradi, Sandra (2018), BTI Country Report India, in: Bertelsmann Stiftung, Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2018. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung.
• Destradi, Sandra (2018), Review of Thies, Cameron G.; Nieman, Mark David, Rising Powers and Foreign Policy Revisionism: Understanding BRICS Identity and Behavior through Time. H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews, http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=51390.
• Destradi, Sandra (2017), Kaschmir. Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, http://www.bpb.de/internationales/weltweit/innerstaatliche-konflikte/54616/kaschmir.
• Destradi, Sandra (2016), BTI Country Report India, in: Bertelsmann Stiftung, Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2016. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung.
• Destradi, Sandra and Meena Singh Roy (2014): Afghanistan and the Region in 2014: Conference Report, in: ASIEN: The German Journal on Contemporary Asia, 132: 120-121.
• Destradi, Sandra (2014), Regionalmacht in einem schwierigen Umfeld: Indien als sicherheitspolitischer Akteur, in: Reader Sicherheitspolitik der Bundeswehr 06/2014.
• Destradi, Sandra (2014), Domestic Politics and Regional Hegemony: India’s Approach to Sri Lanka, in: e-International Relations, http://www.e-ir.info/2014/01/14/domestic-politics-and-regional-hegemony-indias-approach-to-sri-lanka/.
• Destradi, Sandra (2014), “Response” on India-Sri Lanka Relations, FPRC Journal, 2/2014: 38-44.
• Destradi, Sandra (2014), BTI Country Report India, in: Bertelsmann Stiftung, Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2014. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung.
• Destradi, Sandra (2013), Der Aufstieg neuer Mächte und die neue Weltordnung, in: Praxis Politik 5/2013.

„Global autocratic collaboration in times of COVID-19“ (gefördert durch: VW-Stiftung, 2021-22)

• Funded by: VW-Foundation (February 2021 – August 2022)
• Project leaders: Prof. Dr. Thomas Demmelhuber (University of Erlangen), Julia Gurol (University of Freiburg) and Tobias Zumbrägel (Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, Bonn)

While democratic backlash and a resurgence of autocracies have been identified by scholars since the 2000s, empirical evidence grows that the COVID-19 pandemic facilitates autocratization trends. Expanding executive power at the expense of legislative/judicial branches for the sake of handling COVID-19, constitutes a window of opportunity for political leaders to foster authoritarian structures. This trend is visible across the globe – regardless of whether the respective regimes are autocratic (e.g. Arab region), hybrid (e.g. Latin America) or democratic (e.g. Europe). We argue that this development of fostering autocratic order is not intrinsically national but reinforced externally. Similar to the ‘waves of democracy’ throughout the last century, this development is characterized by the promotion and diffusion of a certain model of political rule. This project explores the pathways, mechanisms, modes, scope and circumstances of the authoritarian surge and seeks to uncover its effects and repercussions for (trans-)regional power constellations, asking Why, how and under which circumstances are autocratic elements disseminated in the current COVID-19 pandemic, with which results? On a theoretical and conceptual basis, we thereby contribute to the debate on how foreign policy is used as an instrument of authoritarian power consolidation. We identify the transregional sources, diffusing elements (including ideas, institutions, policies, models, behaviors and techniques) and reciprocal pathways of authoritarian collaboration in a time of global fragility and uncertainty, capturing the interplay of global and regional games.

As little is known about the concrete mechanisms of how foreign policy is used as an instrument of authoritarian power consolidation, the project applies an explorative approach, conducting country-specific analyses within the overall Sino-Gulf relationship. The case selection comprises China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Thereby, we focus not only on countries that reveal a density of linkages and high level of autocratization but also include several of the “Big Five” authoritarian countries (China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela) that are assumed to be responsible for the authoritarian surge (Diamond et al. 2016: 6-10).

The project consists of two research packages (RPs). RP1 deals with the traveling of autocratic practices: How does global autocratic collaboration manifest in times of crises? To what extent and under which circumstances do Gulf countries use China’s modes of corona-governance as a blueprint? Are there channels of autocratic learning/emulation? In this RP, we examine COVID-19-related practices/tools such as tracing apps, surveillance technology or disinformation campaigns aimed at fostering autocratic practices. RP2 addresses competition for China’s favor: How are regional actors competing in terms of their ‘special relations’ with China? How are they trying to be better than the neighbors who were seen for quite some time as being part of the same “epistemic community” (see Sean Yom’s, 2014). And ultimately, how does the current crisis affect regional power games of cooperation, conflict and competition?