Draft:Robert Schuett

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Robert Schuett
Born1979 (age 46–47)
Munich, Germany
CitizenshipAustrian
OccupationsCivil servant, scholar
Known forHans Kelsen studies
SpouseSusanne Schuett
Children1
Academic background
Alma materDurham University
Academic work
DisciplinePolitical science
Sub-discipline
International relations
InstitutionsDiplomatic Academy of Vienna
Notable ideas
Open society realism
Websiterobertschuett.com

Robert Schuett (also Robert Schütt; born 1979 in Munich) is an Austrian political scientist, civil servant, and scholar.[1] He serves as Chair of the Austrian Political Science Association (ÖGPW) and is the 2025–26 Fulbright-Botstiber Visiting professor of Austrian-American Studies at Stanford University.[2][3][4][5]

Biography

Schuett studied at Durham University, earning a Master of Arts in 2005 and a Doctor of Philosophy in politics in 2009. In 2010 he was a postdoctoral visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego. He holds the venia docendi (Habilitation) in political science from the University of Salzburg, awarded in 2021 for a habilitation thesis on the political realism of Hans Kelsen, and is an honorary fellow in the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) at Durham University.[6][7][8]

From 2011 to 2022 he served in the Ministry of Defence (Austria),[9] including at the Office of the President of Austria (Heinz Fischer).[1] From 2023 to 2024 he was seconded to the Ministry of the Interior (Austria).[10] Since 2022 he has taught geopolitics and transatlantic relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and holds a visiting fellowship at the Department of Political Science, University of Salzburg.[8]

Since 2025 he has been a columnist at Global Policy[7] and contributes commentary on foreign policy to Austrian newspapers including Die Presse,[11][12] Der Standard,[13][14] Wiener Zeitung,[15][16] and Salzburger Nachrichten.[17][18] He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Austrian-American History.[19]

Research

Robert Schuett's research sits at the intersection of political theory and international politics, with a focus on classical realism[20] and the English School.[21]

Hans Kelsen

Central to his work is a realist reinterpretation of Hans Kelsen, which he terms "open society realism."[22][23] His monograph Hans Kelsen's Political Realism (Edinburgh University Press, 2021) was translated into Spanish, El realismo político de Hans Kelsen, translated by Natalia Springer, in 2025.[24]

In 2022 he edited the first special issue devoted to Kelsen's political thought in a realist context of politics and international relations, titled "Kelsen, Politics, and Realism." The special issue opened with his article "Professor Kelsen's Amazing Reappearing Act,"[25] arguing for Kelsen's continued relevance to contemporary democratic theory and international relations.

His reinterpretation of Kelsen as a political realist has been recognized as a significant contribution to both Kelsen scholarship in jurisprudence[26] and in political theory.[27] The book received endorsements from, among others, George Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations, Clemens Jabloner, former Vice-Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Wolfgang Petritsch, President of the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation, and Nicholas Onuf, Professor Emeritus at Florida International University.[28]

With funding from the Future Funds of the Republic of Austria,[29] he delivered lectures on Kelsen's political realism at several Colombian universities in Bogotá and Medellín in September 2025, on the occasion of the Spanish translation of his monograph.[29][30] The book also received positive reviews in Italian political theory journals.[31][32]

International Relations

Schuett works on international relations, with a particular focus on international security and intelligence studies. He leads the intelligence studies seminar at the University of Salzburg.[2] In 2024, funding from the Future Funds of the Republic of Austria,[33] he co-directed the research project Stealing Secrets? Intelligence Theory and the Open Society[34] at the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS), Durham University, together with John C. Williams, Professor of International Relations at Durham. Among his current projects is a "Pure" theory of Intelligence drawing on Kelsen's methodological approach.[3]

Selected Works

Monographs

  • Hans Kelsen's Political Realism. Edinburgh University Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1-4744-8168-7.
    • Spanish translation: El realismo político de Hans Kelsen. Unijus, Bogotá 2025.
  • Political Realism, Freud, and Human Nature in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. ISBN 978-0-230-62354-5

Edited Volumes

  • With Miles Hollingworth (ed.): The Edinburgh Companion to Political Realism. Edinburgh University Press, 2018. ISBN 9781474423281
  • With Peter M.R. Stirk (ed.): The Concept of the State in International Relations. Edinburgh University Press, 2015. ISBN 9780748693627

Selected Articles

  • “Kelsen, the Sanctuary, and the Spy.” Global Policy, April 27, 2026.
  • “The Pope, the Tyrants, and the Man They Both Need to Read.” Global Policy, April 20, 2026
  • “The Geopolitics Fetish?” Global Policy, March 4, 2026.
  • “A Geopolitics of Bystanders?” Global Policy, February 22, 2026.
  • Robert Schuett. “On Thinking About Intelligence.” Global Policy, February 17, 2026.
  • Robert Schuett. “The Trouble with How We Define Intelligence.” Global Policy, February 10, 2026.
  • Robert Schuett. “Intelligence and the Limits of Political Realism.” Global Policy, February 3, 2026.
  • With Marek M. Jaros: “Poland and the Sword’s Edge.” Global Policy, January 28, 2026.
  • With Marek M. Jaros: “Poland and the Problems of Preparation against Russia.” Global Policy, January 5, 2026.
  • “Defending Democracy: Hans Kelsen and Intelligence in International Society.” Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Orders and Organization 13, no. 7/8 (2025): 43–55.
  • Robert Schuett. “Political Realism and Political Idealism, 2026.” Global Policy, December 8, 2025.
  • With Marek M. Jaros: “Poland’s Paradox: From the Polish Plumber to Polish Power.” Global Policy, December 2, 2025.
  • With Georg Psota: “Why Medication Matters: Mental Health, War, and Ukraine.” Global Policy, October 2, 2025.
  • “Ukraine Is Rethinking Mental Health in Wartime – and the World Should Take Note.” Kyiv Post, September 28, 2025.
  • With Luca Trenta: “Covert Wars, Criminal Gangs, and the ‘New Threat’ Environment.” RUSI Commentary, May 27, 2025.
  • “Hans Kelsen und die Englische Schule in den Internationalen Beziehungen.” Der Standard, March 3, 2025.
  • With Ayesha Peacock. “War Rape in the Age of AI.” Polemics Magazine, 19 May 2024.
  • With John C. Williams: "Intelligence in International Society: An English School Perspective on the Five Eyes." Global Policy 15, no. 2 (2024): 223–233.
  • "The End of Open Society Realism?" Analyse & Kritik 44, no. 2 (2022): 219–242.
  • “Fear and Freud in Politics: Critical Notes on Mearsheimer’s Structural Realism.” E-International Relations, September 4, 2020.
  • "Peace through Transformation: Political Realism and the Progressivism of National Security." International Relations 25, no. 2 (2011): 185–203.
  • “Classical Realism, Freud and Human Nature in International Relations.” History of the Human Sciences 23, no. 2 (2010): 21–46.
  • “Freudian Roots of Political Realism: the Importance of Sigmund Freud to Hans J. Morgenthau’s Theory of International Power Politics.” History of the Human Sciences 20, no. 4 (2007): 53–78.

References

  1. "Dr Robert Schuett - RUSI Guest Contributor". Royal United Services Institute. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  2. Stangl, Tamara (13 December 2025). "James Bond war gestern – Nachrichtendienste im Fokus. Robert Schütt über "Intelligence Studies" an der Universität Salzburg und die Bedeutung moderner Geheimdienstarbeit". Salzburger Nachrichten.
  3. "Robert Schuett - Fulbright-Botstiber Visiting Professor of Austrian-American Studies in the US". Fulbright Austria. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  4. "Robert Schuett wins Fulbright-Botstiber Visiting Professor Award". Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  5. "All CISAC People - Robert Schuett". Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  6. Carillo Salgado, Augusto Fernando (2024). "Un especialista en realismo político clásico y en la obra de Hans Kelsen: entrevista a Robert Schuett". Precedente: Revista Journal. 24: 122–142. doi:10.18046/prec.v24.5891.
  7. "GP Columnists - Robert Schuett". Global Policy. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  8. Zubko, Martin (24 November 2025). "TeachIR: Robert Schuett - Diplomatische Akademie Wien". TeachIR. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  9. Schütt, Robert (3 August 2022). "Die Zukunft gibt's nicht am Billardtisch". Wiener Zeitung. p. 13. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  10. Frank, Johann; Berchtold, Johannes, eds. (2025). Ethos der Macht [Ethos of Power] (in German). Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 737. ISBN 978-3-428-19571-8.
  11. Schütt, Robert (20 October 2022). "Machts mehr Morgenthau". Die Presse. p. 34. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  12. Schütt, Robert (26 January 2024). "Der Macht die Wahrheit sagen". Die Presse. p. 28. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  13. Schütt, Robert (2024). "Realismus, Realpolitik und Geopolitik: Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung". Der Standard. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  14. Schütt, Robert (24 February 2025). "Drei Jahre Krieg gegen die Ukraine: Warum nur Frieden durch Recht Bestand hat". Der Standard. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  15. Schütt, Robert (2 November 2022). "Hans Kelsen, der Sicherheitspolitiker". Wiener Zeitung. p. 13. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  16. Schütt, Robert (26 November 2022). "Professor Herz, wo sind Sie?". Wiener Zeitung. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  17. Hödlmoser, Thomas (11 February 2023). "Wäre Putin in der Nato friedlich?". Salzburger Nachrichten. p. 4.
  18. Hödlmoser, Thomas (11 March 2023). "Verleiht die Bombe Sicherheit?". Salzburger Nachrichten. p. 4.
  19. "Editorial Board". Journal of Austrian-American History. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  20. Schuett, Robert; Hollingworth, Miles, eds. (2018). The Edinburgh Companion to Political Realism. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474423281.
  21. Schuett, Robert (3 July 2025). "What the English School Gets Right About the World". Global Policy.
  22. Dixon, Sim (5 April 2021). "Open Society Realism - Review of Robert Schuett, Hans Kelsen's Political Realism (Edinburgh University Press, 2021)". Tocqueville21.
  23. Schuett, Robert (2022). "The End of Open Society Realism?" (PDF). Analyse & Kritik. 44 (2): 219–242. doi:10.1515/auk-2022-2024.
  24. "Robert Schuett in Kolumbien / Botschaft Bogotá". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Austria). 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  25. Schuett, Robert (2022). "Professor Kelsen's Amazing Reappearing Act". OZP - Austrian Journal of Political Science. 51 (3): 1–10. doi:10.15203/ozp.4048.vol51iss3.
  26. Gassner, Miriam (2023). "Buchbesprechungen: Schuett, Robert: Hans Kelsen's Political Realism". Heidelberg Journal of International Law. 2: 355–359.
  27. Specter, Matthew (2023). "Review of Robert Schuett, Hans Kelsen's Political Realism". Contemporary Political Theory. 22: 113–116. doi:10.1057/s41296-022-00603-3.
  28. "Reviews". Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  29. "Promoting Hans Kelsen's democratic theory in Latin America (P25-5890)". Future Funds of the Republic of Austria. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  30. Schuett, Robert (15 September 2025). "From Brody to Bogotá (and Medellín): Why Hans Kelsen Is More Relevant Than Ever". Global Policy.
  31. Damele, Giovanni (2021). "Hans Kelsen: realista politico? A proposito di Robert Schuett, Hans Kelsen's Political Realism, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2021". Quaderni di Scienza Politica. 2 (maggio–agosto): 225–238.
  32. Lagi, Sara (2022). "Rassegna bibliografica - Schuett R., Hans Kelsen's Political Realism, Edinburgh, Edinburg University Press, 2021, pp. 190". Il Pensiero Politico. LV (2): 226–227.
  33. "Hans Kelsen and intelligence in international society (P23-5183)". Future Funds of the Republic of Austria. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  34. "Stealing Secrets? Intelligence theory and the open society". Durham University. Retrieved 29 April 2026.