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Dr. Wolfgang Minatti

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C4.002b
Fon +49.4131.677-2237, wolfgang.minatti@leuphana.de
Research associate, Professorship of International Relations
Associated member, Leuphana Center for Cooperative Security (LCCS)

Table of contents for this page

Vita

Wolfgang Minatti (he/him) is a postdoctoral researcher at the Leuphana University, Germany. He holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

His research focuses on the legitimation of governance in international politics with a particular focus on violent non-state actors in civil wars. Furthermore, he works on fieldwork methodology and the ethics of conducting qualitative research. He conducted extensive fieldwork in Colombia where he worked with rebel ex-combatants and rural peasants.

Research Interests

Peace and Conflict Studies | International Relations | Violent Non-State Actors | Wartime Governance

Projects

  1. Legitimising Rebel Rule: Violence and Contested Authority in the Colombian Conflict
    Wolfgang Minatti (Project manager, academic)

    Project: Research

View all projects

Publications

Journal contributions

  1. It takes three to tango: contested authority, violence, and rebel legitimacy in Colombia
    Wolfgang Minatti (Author) , 01.07.2026 , in: Journal of Peace Research, 63, 4 , p. 618–631 , 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. ‘Being affected’: The epistemic value of vulnerability in fieldwork
    Wolfgang Minatti (Author) , Frédéric Guillaume Gass-Quintero (Author) , 01.06.2026 , in: Qualitative Research, 26, 3 , p. 623-642 , 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. On assistants and researchers: Power, positionality and vulnerability during fieldwork on the Colombian conflict
    Laura Ramírez Rodríguez (Author) , Wolfgang Minatti (Author) , 01.06.2026 , in: Qualitative Research, 26, 3 , p. 603-622 , 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. Beyond vulnerable populations: vulnerability, fieldwork and knowledge production
    Wolfgang Minatti (Author) , Ophelia Nicole-Berva (Author) , 01.06.2026 , in: Qualitative Research, 26, 3 , p. 501-512 , 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Self-Legitimation as a Bureaucratic Tool: EU Bureaucracy and the Legitimizing Function of Children’s Rights
    Selma Kropp (Author) , Wolfgang Minatti (Author) , 01.10.2025 , in: Global Studies Quarterly, 5, 4 , 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Activities

  1. Leuphana Security Dialogue: Von Staatsräson bis Völkerrecht: Deutschlands Sicherheitspolitik und historische Verantwortung
    Wolfgang Minatti (Speaker)

    Activity: talk or presentation in privat or public events › Transfer

  2. Leuphana Security Dialogue: Von Staatsräson bis Völkerrecht: Deutschlands Sicherheitspolitik und historische Verantwortung
    Wolfgang Minatti (presenter)

    Activity: talk or presentation in privat or public events › Transfer

  3. Legitimacy Through Violence: Exploring the Normative Role of Violence during Wartime
    Wolfgang Minatti (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  4. Messy methods: The different roles of vulnerability in researching IR
    Wolfgang Minatti (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  5. Output for Whom? EU Bureaucracy and the Legitimising Function of Children’s Rights
    Wolfgang Minatti (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

View all activities

Press / Media

  1. Rebel Governance as Self-Legitimation: The Case of the FARC in Colombia
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  2. Frieden von unten: Zivilgesellschaftliche Versöhnung in Kolumbien
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  3. Fieldwork and Vulnerability in Political Science
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

View all press/media coverage

Prizes

  1. Austrian Young Talent Award
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  2. Re:Constitution Fellowship
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  3. Civil War Paths Fellowship
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  4. Early Stage Researcher Grant
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

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Courses

Doing Qualitative Research: A practical guide
Wolfgang Minatti
This course focuses on evaluating and conducting rigorous, epistemologically plural qualitative research, with an emphasis on practical application. It introduces key concepts and methods, such as case studies, interviews, ethnography, process tracing, and content analysis, and demonstrates their practical use. The goal is to equip students to be smart consumers and users of qualitative methods in their own studies, reading and theses.

Each class is separated into two parts -- each 90 minutes long, meaning the seminar will go for only half of the term, but with double units. In the first part of each class, we discuss the theory and concepts of a particular method. The seminar applies these methods across a variety of issue areas, including statehood, democracy, and empire.

In the second part, students will have to apply the method pratically -- meaning doing ethnography, an interview or a content analysis themselves. The seminar encourages exchange and collaboration among students through discussions, presentations, and other creative forms of engagement.

The course adopts a portfolio system and students have to write two short essays in which they analyse data they collected themselves using two different methods from the course.

Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-10-13 at 12:15
Room: C 12.102 Seminarraum
Violence beyond the State
Wolfgang Minatti
Long gone are the days where the state enjoyed the exclusive monopoly of violence – if they ever existed. Contemporary international relations know several violent non-state actors, from rebel groups, militias, and warlords all the way to private military security contractors and peacekeeping forces. How do these actors shape international politics? What political and military challenges do they face? And why do they fight?

By analysing empirical cases from around the world – from Europe to Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East – this course explores organised violence beyond the nation-state. It examines phenomena such as revolution, terrorism, intervention, and insurgency to understand the diverse military and political roles of violent non-state actors in contemporary politics.
Next appointment:
Wednesday, 2026-10-14 at 10:15
Room: C 12.107 Seminarraum