Our visiting scholars are part of our vibrant research community
Current Visiting Scholars
The below list covers all bona fide visitors to the Department of POLIS:
| Name | Start date | End date |
| Prof Boris Kashnikov | 12/06/2023 | 11/06/2025 |
| Asst Prof Recep Kürekli | 01/01/2025 | 10/09/2025 |
| Dr Nikita Samdariya | 01/05/2025 | 31/08/2025 |
| Tim Heinkelmann-Wild | 06/05/2025 | 31/07/2025 |
Visiting Scholar Profiles
Dr Nikita Samdariya - Visiting until 31/08/2025
Nikita Samdariya is a law graduate from Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad (SLS-H), where she earned her B.A. LL.B. in 2021 as the Batch Topper. She then pursued an LL.M. at National Law University, Delhi (NLUD), specializing in Constitutional Law, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law, graduating as the Gold Medallist for Second Rank.
She has previously served as an Assistant Professor at SLS-H and is currently a Ph.D. scholar at NLUD. Her doctoral research, A Claim for an ‘Overall’ Constitutional Legitimacy: A Critical Study of the Indian Constitution (working title), examines constitutional legitimacy beyond conventional normative frameworks. It also explores the political dimensions of legitimacy, analyzing how power, social dynamics, and political practices shape the acceptance and stability of constitutional orders, particularly in the Indian context.
Dr Tim Heinkelmann-Wild - Visiting until 31/07/2025
Tim Heinkelmann-Wild is a senior researcher and lecturer at LMU Munich’s Geschwister-Scholl-Institute of Political Science. His research inter alia focuses on the relationship of international institutions, power, and order. In his doctoral project, he examined how the termination of support by the US impacts international organizations and agreements. He was a Junior Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield College and the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR). His research has appeared in journals such as the Review of International Organizations, International Studies Quarterly, the Review of International Studies, the European Journal of Political Research, and the Journal of European Public Policy. His co-authored book “European Blame Games” was published in 2024 by Oxford University Press.
As a Visiting Fellow at POLIS, Tim Heinkelmann-Wild will conduct research about current challenges to international organizations, such as the UN, the WTO, the OSCE, and the EU, and analyse how leadership by their bureaucracies and member states can contributes to institutional resilience.
Professor Boris Kashnikov - Visiting until 11/06/2025
The research interests of Professor Boris Kashnikov, as well as practical activities, belong to the sphere of moral and political philosophy, mostly the ethics of war and peace. His PhD and Post PhD (Habilitation) are on the problems of justice.
Нe is a member of the board of directors of the International Society for Military Ethics in Europe (EuroISME). In 2003 – 2004 he was a Director of the Moscow office of International Crisis Group (ICG). In 1993-1994 Professor Kashnikov worked with UNPROFOR in Former Yugoslavia as a member of the UN monitoring mission and in 1989 served in the Nagorny Karabakh peace making mission.
He is a three-fold winner of the Fulbright one year grant for teaching and research in the USA. (George Mason University 2010-2011, Emory University 1999-2000 and Mershon Center for International Security Studies at Ohio State University 1996 -1997). He was a DAAD visiting professor at Ruhr University Bochum Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict and Philosophy Department, (2017-2018, 2013-2014 and 2004-2005). In 2017 he was on fellowship at the University of Oxford and graduated from the “Changing Character of War Executive Leadership Course” of Changing Character of War Institute.
Professor Kashnikov taught courses on ethics of war and peace at Moscow Research University “Higher School of Economics”, University of Bayreuth (Germany), University of Urgench (Uzbekistan). On many occasions he provided expertise for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Published widely on moral problems of War and Justice. His publications include countless articles and a monograph: “Terrorism. The New World Disorder”, London: Continuum, 2007 (in co-authorship). Contributed several chapters to monograph: “Moral Constraints on War. Principles and Cases”, edited by Bruno Coppieters and Nick Fotion, Lexington Books, 2020; and a chapter on Self-Determination of Peoples to a recent monograph “International Conflict and Security Law”. Volume One: Protected Values, Law, and Institutions. Ed. by Sergey Sayapin, Rustam Atadjanov, and Umesh Kadam T. M. C. Asser Press / Springer. 2022.
He currently works on monograph on terrorism.
Become a Visiting Scholar at the Department of POLIS
The Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) Visitors Programme welcomes a small number of scholars each year. The Programme is aimed at scholars in established posts in other academic institutions.
Find out how to apply