Our faculty
Dr Björn Alexander Düben
Lecturer in International Relations
Björn Alexander Düben holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), having previously completed a BA(Hons) in Social & Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and an MPhil in International Relations at the University of Oxford. Whilst completing his PhD, he gained his first academic teaching experience at LSE’s Department of International Relations, and he also spent five months as a Visiting Researcher at Peking University in Beijing. Subsequently, he taught seminars in International Relations, Security Studies, and Intelligence Studies at King’s College London (Department of War Studies), before taking up a position as an Assistant Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Jilin University (China), where he taught a variety of courses related to International Relations, Security Studies, Foreign Policy Analysis, and Comparative Politics. Besides his academic work, he has worked as an analyst for a top-tier London-based law firm, as well as various think tanks and NGOs in Germany, Latvia, and Russia. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Goethe University in Frankfurt.
Research Interests
- Chinese foreign and security policy
- Russian foreign and security policy
- China-Russia relations
- North-East Asian security issues
Current teaching
- IR3140 Security in International Relations
Select Publications
- Selected Academic Publications:
Björn Alexander Düben & Heidi Wang-Kaeding, ‘Don’t Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: China’s Response to the Russia-Ukraine War’, International Politics, Vol.61, No.5 (October 2024), 923-953.
Raj Verma & Björn Alexander Düben, ‘The Russia-Ukraine War and Inter-State Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific’, International Politics, Vol.61, No.5 (October 2024), 903-922.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘China’s Reaction to the Russia-Ukraine War: A Test Case for a Global ‘Pax Sinica’?’, Global Policy, Vol.15, No.4 (September 2024), 773-777.
Björn Alexander Düben & Hangwei Li, ‘The ‘Sovereignty Paradox’ in China’s Response to the Russia-Ukraine War’, Contemporary Security Policy (23 August 2024).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘How Institution-Building Shapes Great Power Alignment: An Institutional Perspective on the China-Russia Partnership’, The Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol.17, No.1 (2024), 75-103.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Revising History and ‘Gathering the Russian Lands’: Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Nationhood’, LSE Public Policy Review, Vol.3, No.1 (8 September 2023).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Obsession „Innere Sicherheit“: Die Chinesisch-Russische Entente der Autokraten’ [‘Obsessed with “Internal Security”: The Sino-Russian Entente of the Autocrats’], Osteuropa, Vol.73, No.7-9 (2023), 177-191.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Omnibalancing in China-Russia Relations: Regime Survival and the Specter of Domestic Threats as an Impetus for Bilateral Alignment’, Post-Soviet Affairs, Vol.39, No.6 (June 2023), 462-486.
Raj Verma & Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Cementing US Global Preeminence’, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, Vol.6, No.3 (March/April 2023), 74-91.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Rewriting History and ‘Gathering the Russian Lands’: Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Nationhood’, in: Cox, Michael (ed.), Ukraine: Russia’s War and the Future of the Global Order (London: LSE Press, 2023), 59-90.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Xi Jinping and the End of Chinese Exceptionalism’, Problems of Post-Communism, Vol.67, No.2 (2020), 111-128.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Atomic Outcast: Will North Korea Behave Like a ‘Normal’ Nuclear Power?’, The RUSI Journal, Vol.162, No.6 (19 January 2018), 6-14.
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Donald Trump and the Coming Taiwan-China Crisis’, The National Interest, No.148 (March/April 2017), 54-65.
- Selected Policy Articles:
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Did Dmytro Kuleba’s Visit Start a New Chapter in China-Ukraine Relations?’, The Diplomat (27 July 2024).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘While Xi and Putin Celebrate Cooperation, Problems Build in China-Russia Ties’, The Diplomat (15 May 2024).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘What Conclusions Is China Drawing from the Wagner Revolt in Russia?’, The Diplomat (7 July 2023).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Kas Hiina jaoks on Venemaa Saakloom või Liitlane?’ [‘For China, is Russia Prey or an Ally?’], Postimees (5 June 2022).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘What Putin’s War in Ukraine Means for the Future of China-Russia Relations’, LSE Ideas Strategic Update (May 2022).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Was Lenin Really the Architect of Modern Ukraine – Or Is Vladimir Putin Rewriting History?’, The Daily Telegraph (23 February 2022).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘The Long Shadow of the Soviet Union: Demystifying Putin’s Rhetoric Towards Ukraine’, LSE Ideas Strategic Update (February 2022).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘China-Russia Alignment: The Centrality of Regime Security’, LSE Ideas China Foresight (15 June 2021).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Examining the Domestic Drivers of China-Russia Alignment: More than a Few Roadblocks’, LSE Ideas China Foresight (3 June 2021).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘‘There Is No Ukraine’: Fact-Checking the Kremlin’s Version of Ukrainian History’, LSE International History (1 July 2020).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘No End in Sight for Germany’s Troubles with Huawei’, The Lowy Interpreter/Lowy Institute for International Policy (20 January 2020).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Try as It Might, Germany Isn’t Warming to Huawei’, The Diplomat (9 January 2020).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Are the Gloves Coming Off in China-Germany Economic Relations?’, The Diplomat (3 May 2019).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘The Souring Mood towards Beijing from Berlin’, The Lowy Interpreter/Lowy Institute for International Policy (15 April 2019).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Can Diplomacy with North Korea Ever Work? It’s Time to Be Realistic about the Prospects of Negotiations with Pyongyang’, The Diplomat (22 December 2017).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Banking on Beijing: What the Ukraine Crisis Means for the Future of China-Russia Relations’, LSE Ideas Strategic Update, No.15:3 (July 2015).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Why Russia’s Turn to China Is a Mirage’, Reuters (8 July 2015).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘Can the China-Russia Warmth Last?’, The Diplomat (8 May 2015).
Björn Alexander Düben, ‘The Legitimacy of Russia’s Actions in Ukraine’, LSE International History (4 March 2015).
