The Dahrendorf Forum is a partnership between the Hertie School and the London School of Economics and Political Science, funded by Stiftung Mercator. The Dahrendorf team located at the Hertie School and the LSE comprises:
Academic Co-Directors
Helmut K. Anheier, Academic Co-Director, Dahrendorf Forum, and Co-Chair of the Dahrendorf Working Group ‘“Societal Change, Politics, and the Public Sphere”; Professor of Sociology and past President, Hertie School
Helmut K. Anheier is Professor of Sociology and past President of the Hertie School. He also held a chair of sociology at Heidelberg University and served as Academic Director of the Centre for Social Investment. He received his PhD from Yale University in 1986 and later served as a senior researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, Professor of Public Policy and Social Welfare at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, and Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics. Before embarking on his academic career, Prof Anheier served as Social Affairs Officer to the United Nations. He is author of over 450 publications and has won several international prizes and recognitions for his scholarship. Among his recent book publications are Nonprofit Organizations: Theory, Management, Policy (Routledge, 2014), A Versatile American Institution: The Changing Ideals and Realities of Philanthropic Foundations with David Hammack (Brookings, 2013), and The Global Studies Encyclopedia with Mark Juergensmeyer (5 vols, Sage, 2012). He is the principal academic lead of the Hertie School’s annual Governance Report (Oxford University Press, 2013-) and is currently working on projects relating to indicator research, social innovation, culture, philanthropy, and organisational studies.
Iain Begg, Academic Co-Director and Co-Chair of the Dahrendorf Working Group “The Future Of European Governance”; Professorial Research Fellow, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
Iain Begg is a Professorial Research Fellow at LSE’s European Institute, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and will shortly complete a two-year senior fellowship on the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. His main expertise is in the political economy of European integration and EU economic governance. He has directed and participated in numerous research projects on different facets of EU policy, covering the governance of economic and monetary union in Europe, the EU’s ‘Europe 2020’ strategy and future employment prospects in the EU, and reform of the EU cohesion policy. Iain has served as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords European Communities Committee for an inquiry into European economic and monetary union and has undertaken a number of other advisory roles.
Working Group Co-Chairs
Kevin Featherstone, Co-Chair of the Dahrendorf Working Group “The Future Of European Governance”; Director of the Hellenic Observatory and Professor in European Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science
Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies, Professor of European Politics, and Head of the European Institute at LSE . He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota, New York University, and Harvard University. Before LSE, he held academic posts at the universities of Stirling and Bradford. In 2009/10 he served on an advisory committee for the reform of the Greek government. He was the first foreign member of the National Council for Research and Technology (ESET) in Greece. In 2013, he was made Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of Greece for his academic contributions. His research has focused on the politics of the European Union and on the politics of contemporary Greece. His book (co-authored with Kenneth Dyson), The Road to Maastricht: Negotiating EMU (Oxford University Press), was recognised in the European Parliament’s list of ‘100 Books to Remember’. He has published many other monographs, including The Politics of Europeanization and Prime Ministers in Greece: the Paradox of Power, both also with Oxford University Press, as well as numerous journal articles. He is a regular contributor to the international media.
Andrea Römmele, Co-Chair of the Dahrendorf Working Group ‘“Societal Change, Politics and the Public Sphere”; Dean of Executive Education and Professor for Communication in Politics and Civil Society, Hertie School
Andrea Römmele is a Professor of Communication in Politics and Civil Society at the Hertie School. Her research interests are comparative political communications, political parties, and public affairs. She held the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Modern German Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2012/13 and has been a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University and the Australian National University in Canberra. Prof Römmele is co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Journal for Political Consulting and Policy Advice and also works as a consultant to political and corporate campaigns. She obtained her master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a PhD from Heidelberg University, and a habilitation from the Free University of Berlin.
Manager
Gesa-Stefanie von Stillfried, Manager, Dahrendorf Forum, Hertie School
Gesa has been working as Manager of the Dahrendorf Forum at the Hertie School since 2011. From 2004 to 2011, Gesa worked as a manager and a research associate at the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) in Berlin and as a project manager at the Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE) in Nice, France and in Berlin. Gesa completed a state examination in Social Sciences and French Studies at the University of Münster, and a MA in European Studies at the University of Tübingen.
Research Associate

Edward Knudsen, Research Associate, Dahrendorf Forum, Hertie School
Edward Knudsen joined the Hertie School in Berlin in March 2019, where he focuses on transatlantic politics and economics. Before moving to Berlin, he was a Research Assistant for the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House in London and worked on projects exploring the future of transatlantic economic and security relations. He has also gained work experience in economic history research at the University of California-Berkeley and Humboldt University in Berlin. He holds a master’s degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree with majors in History and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests are the linkages between economic and security policy, economic history, and the future of transatlantic relations.
Partners
The Hertie School is Germany’s leading public policy school, with a variety of first-rate academic projects and a diverse student body. The School actively engages in public debate with its wide range of events bringing together experts from theory and practice. The Hertie School prepares exceptional students for leadership positions in government, business, and civil society. The School also offers experienced professionals the opportunity to deepen their skills in the field of public management. A renowned international faculty with expertise in economics, business, law, and political and social science take an interdisciplinary, policy-oriented approach to the School’s teaching and research agenda.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) studies the social sciences in their broadest sense, with an academic profile spanning a wide range of disciplines, from economics, politics, history, and law, to sociology, information systems, and accounting and finance. The School has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence and is one of the most international universities in the world. Its study of social, economic, and political problems focuses on the different perspectives and experiences of most countries. From its foundation LSE has aimed to be a laboratory of the social sciences, a place where ideas are developed, analysed, evaluated, and disseminated around the globe.
LSE IDEAS is an Institute of Global Affairs Centre that acts as the School’s foreign policy think tank. Through sustained engagement with policymakers and opinion-formers, IDEAS provides a forum that informs policy debate and connects academic research with the practice of diplomacy and strategy. IDEAS hosts interdisciplinary research projects, produces working papers and reports, holds public and off-the-record events, and delivers cutting-edge executive training programmes for government, business, and third-sector organisations.
Stiftung Mercator is a private and independent foundation. Through its work it strives for a society characterised by openness to the world, solidarity, and equal opportunities. In this context it concentrates on strengthening Europe; increasing the educational success of disadvantaged children and young people, especially those of migrant origin; and driving forward climate change mitigation and promoting science and the humanities. Stiftung Mercator symbolises the connection between academic expertise and practical project experience. One of Germany’s leading foundations, it is active both nationally and internationally. Stiftung Mercator feels a strong sense of loyalty to the Ruhr region, the home of the founding family and the foundation’s headquarters.