Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer

Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer

Junior-Professor of International Relations and Global Politics of Technology

Contact

E-Mail: maximilian.mayer@uni-bonn.de
Phone: +49 (0)228/73-5640
Address: Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn, Room 3.009
Website: Institut für Politische Wissenschaft und Soziologie
Twitter: @mayer_iras

Office Hours and Profile

Office hours

The office hours take place online (via Zoom) every Friday between 09:30 and 10:30 a.m. or by prior appointment. Registration via email to Philip Nock (nock@uni-bonn.de) is required.

Contact: Room 3.009, Phone: +49 (0)228 73 5640.

Profile

Dr. Maximilian Mayer is Junior-Professor of International Relations and Global Politics of Technology at University of Bonn. He was assistant professor at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (2019-2020). He is also research fellow at Renmin University Beijing (2018-2020), worked as Research Professor at Tongji University, Shanghai (2015-2018) and was senior researcher at the Munich Center for Technology in Society, Technical University Munich (2018-2019). Maximilian worked at the Bonn University’s Center for Global Studies (CGS) as managing assistant and senior herefellow (2009-2015). Maximilian holds a master degree from Ruhr University Bochum and obtained his PhD at Bonn University. His research interests include the global politics of science, innovation, and technology; China’s foreign and energy policy; global energy and climate politics; theories of International Relations. Maximilian presents regularly at international conferences, publishes his research in peer-reviewed journals, and has authored seven books including China’s Energy Thirst: Myth or Reality? (2007 together with Xuewu Gu), Changing orders: transdiciplinary analysis of global and local realities (2008, co-editer), two-volumes on The Global Politics of Science and Technology (2014, lead editor). He is coeditor of Art and Sovereignty in Global Politics (Palgrave, 2016) and edited Rethinking the Silk-Road: Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and Emerging Eurasian Relations (Palgrave, 2018). Maximilian was visiting scholar at Harvard Kennedy School, Program on Science, Technology and Society, and section co-chair of STAIR (Science, Technology, Arts and international relations) of the International Studies Association (2015-2017) and STAIR program chair (2014-2015). Furthermore, he is part of the research group The Second Cold War Observatory.

Full CV here. More information on the website of the Institute for Political Science and Sociology.

Research Interests

Role of science and technology in International Relations
Chinas foreign and energy politics
Global enviroment and climate politics

Doctoral students supervised by Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer

Research Projects and Events

Ongoing Research Projects

Former Research Projects

Selected Events

Upcoming Events

Current Teaching

Winter Semester 2025/26

Team

Anna Böhmer

anna.boehmer@uni-bonn.de

Website

+49 228 73-60278

Dr. Katharina C. Cramer

Johannes Doerfert

Mitra Heydari

Xin Jin

Yen-Chi Lu

Mara Nazaretyan

Philip Nock

Frederik Schmitz

frederik.schmitz@uni-bonn.de

Ningjie Zhu

Publications

“Research Security” in Germany and the United States

The authors investigate the concept of "research security" in the context of rising geopolitical tensions, comparing how it is implemented in Germany and the US. The study focuses on how research security is framed and put into practice within science policy, showing that greater attention to the topic does not necessarily lead to securitization.

The Digitalisation of Memory Practices in China

On September 25, 2025, Maximilian Mayer and Frederik Schmitz published "The Digitalisation of Memory Practices in China: Contesting the Curating State." at Bristol University Press. The volume was supported by TRA 5 Present Pasts and provides the first comprehensive analysis of how memory and heritage in China is being reshaped in the digital age. Read more here.

Chinas Anspruch auf eine neue Weltordnung

Nadine Godehardt and Maximilian Mayer analyze China’s foreign policy, using the 2025 SCO summit in Tianjin as an example, where Xi Jinping presented his Global Governance Initiative (GGI) and organized numerous bilateral meetings. At the core lies China’s attempt to establish an alternative world order through multilateral structures and bilateral networks, distinct from Western-liberal principles. While Beijing emphasizes equality, sovereignty, and win-win cooperation, it employs these narratives to consolidate its own power and expand zones of influence with imperial characteristics. For Germany and Europe, this underscores the need to address not only trade-related issues but also China’s global ambitions in a more strategic way.

Global structures of digital dependence and the rise of technopoles

In their article published in New Political Economy, Maximilian Mayer and Yen-Chi Lu examine global patterns of digital dependency, highlighting how the United States and China, as key “technopoles,” possess significant technological sovereignty and strategically use digital infrastructures as instruments of power. Using the Digital Dependence Index (DDI), they develop a conceptual and data-driven model that reveals dependency structures across the areas of hardware, platforms, and patents. Theoretically, the study draws on approaches from international relations, international political economy, and concepts of structural dependency to analyze the geopolitical implications of digital asymmetries.

All Publications

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