Tilmann Scherf is research associate and PhD candidate in the research project “The Politics of State- and Security-Building in Areas of Limited Statehood” (C6) at the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700 “Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood” at Freie Universität (FU) Berlin. He holds a dual MA degree from FU Berlin and Sciences Po Paris and was a Carlo Schmid Fellow at the International Organization for Migration in Geneva.

Tilmann specializes in critical policy and security studies and more specifically on the global governance of security in (post-)conflict settings and areas of limited statehood. His main research interest is on the role of security professionals around international interventions in the area of security sector reform as well as migration and border security governance. Tilmann carried out several months of field research in the West Africa region (mostly in Côte d'Ivoire) and in the headquarters of various international organizations, where he conducted interviews with international and local policy professionals. In 2017, Tilmann was a visiting scholar for two months at the Department of Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

His dissertation investigates the different political rationalities behind the implementation of international governance inventions in the area of border security and their consequences for statehood in West Africa.

Dissertation working title: “The Politics of International Border Governance in West Africa - Reasoning between Humanitarian, Policed and Smart Borders”.

Education

2011-2013: Dual Degree M.A. International Security/Political Science, Sciences Po Paris & Freie Universität Berlin (1,1). Thesis: "Accountability Practices of European Regulatory Agencies in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice" (1,0)

2008-2011: B.A. European Studies, Maastricht University (cum laude)

2011: Visiting Student at Université de Montréal, Sciences Politiques (A-)

Professional Career

Since 07/2014: Research Associate/PhD Candidate at the Collaborative Research Center SFB 700, Freie Universität Berlin, Project C6 (The Politics of State- and Security-Building in Areas of Limited Statehood), Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Ursula Schröder

09/13 - 12/14: Carlo Schmid Fellow, Project Officer, Consultant at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva (CH), Department of Migration Management, Immigration and Border Management Division

07/12 - 09/12: Intern at the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations, New York City (USA), Politics Department, African Affairs Division

06/10 – 07/10: Intern at the European Parliament, Brussels, MEP Petra Kammerevert

Language Skills

German (native) • English (C1+) • French (C1) • Dutch (B1/B2)

Scholarships, Honors and Funding

09/13 – 02/14: Carlo Schmid Fellowship Programme for International Organizations and EU Institutions; German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), German Academic National Foundation

07/12 – 09/12: Stipend for an Internship at the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations; German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

09/11 – 05/12: Full Tuition Scholarship and Research Grant for Master Programme at Sciences Po Paris; German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Université Franco-Allemande (DFH-UFA)

09/09 – 06/10: Honors Programme; Maastricht University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

• Birkholz, Sina/Scherf, Tilmann/Schröder, Ursula C. (2017): Creating room for manoeuvre: domestic repertoires of action in international post-war interventions, in: Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal
• Birkholz, Sina/Scherf, Tilmann/Schröder, Ursula C. (2018): International interventions seen from the ‘Middle’: Perceptions of intermediary actors in Côte d’Ivoire and Lebanon. Cooperation and Conflict, 53(2), 173 - 192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836718768633