Sören Stapel studied Political Science at the Freie Universität Berlin. He was also involved in the SFB 700 “Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood” and the KFG “The Transformative Power of Europe?”. In 2016, Sören completed his PhD at the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies and the Freie Universität Berlin with a dissertation about the adoption and design of regional democracy, human rights, and rule of law institutions. Afterwards, he moved to the School of Global Studies at the University Gothenburg in order investigate the role of developing cooperation and external funding in the context of regional organizations and regional projects in Sub-Saharan Africa (what works, and why?). Sören regularly teaches classes in International Relations, Global and Regional Governance, Emerging Powers, African International Relations as well as Research Designs and Methods.