Professor Marina Henke, Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School, becomes the Helmut Schmidt Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University in the USA. The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD) sponsors this Professorship with funding provided by the Federal Foreign Office.

‘With Marina Henke we were able to gain a proven international expert in European security and defence policy to be our Helmut Schmidt Distinguished Visiting Professor at one of the most prestigious research universities in the United States. We are therefore delighted that she and her colleagues will be conducting research at the Johns Hopkins University’s Kissinger Center into topics relating to security policy. We are hoping that as Visiting Professor she will introduce new perspectives and impetus into current and future security issues. Her work in the USA will also make a substantial contribution toward extending transatlantic, academic dialogue’, said Professor Joybrato Mukherjee, President of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD).

An expert in security and defence policy

Henke holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Politics and Latin American Studies from Sciences Po Paris and a Double Master of Science in Development Studies and International Political Economy from Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics and Political Science. She was awarded her PhD at Princeton University and is Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School in Berlin, and Director of the Centre for International Security. Henke was an Associate Professor (with tenure) at Northwestern University and at Princeton University in the USA. Her research specialisms include grand strategy, nuclear security, European security, and defence policy.

The Helmut Schmidt Professorship

The Helmut Schmidt Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) has been sponsored by the DAAD since 2018 using funds provided by the Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). This Visiting Professorship was established in honour of the former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and in memory of his friendship with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. The Visiting Professorship is held for a period of one to two years by a renowned academic or researcher from a German university or research institution and promotes transatlantic cooperation to address global challenges. In addition to the Visiting Professorship, the DAAD supports two postdoctoral positions at the university. It also funds publications and events, such as an annual conference in Germany and a workshop in Washington, D.C. for early career academics and political decision-makers.

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 and is considered to be one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the USA. It currently looks back on connections with some 30 Nobel Laureates. The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is part of the university and provides Master’s students and doctoral candidates at its campuses in Bologna (Italy), Nanjing (China) and Washington, D.C. (USA) with a comprehensive perspective of international relations and the challenges of a globalised world. The Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs was founded in 2016 at the SAIS (Washington, D.C. campus) and brings together internationally renowned academics and researchers from the fields of foreign policy and international security. The Center’s current research topics include the return of superpower politics, China and the impact of new threats to international relations, such as climate change, artificial intelligence and cyber warfare.