The Körber Foundation honoured Tim Heinkelmann-Wild with the German Thesis Award for his dissertation After Exit: Alternative Leadership and Institutional Resilience after Hegemonic Withdrawal, which also received the DGVN Dissertation Prize from the United Nations Association of Germany.
The thesis, awarded by the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 2024, examines US disengagement from international institutions and its consequences since World War II. Reflecting on these honours, Heinkelmann-Wild shared, “This award means a lot to me as its emphasis on rigorous and, at the same time, societally relevant research reflects my key goals as a political scientist. My PhD project on the US disengagement from multilateralism was sparked by the first Trump administration. As a Max Weber Fellow at the EUI, I am continuing this research agenda focusing on Europe’s responses to US withdrawal.”
The President of the German Bundestag, Julia Klöckner, presented the German Thesis Award to Heinkelmann-Wild at a ceremony in December 2025 at the German Parliamentary Society in Berlin. The United Nations Association of Germany awarded him the DGVN Dissertation Prize in February 2026 in Bonn where he engaged in discussions with representatives of the United Nations, think tanks, and German policymakers on current challenges to multilateralism.
Drawing on more than 60 interviews with senior representatives from international organisations, governments, and the European Union institutions, as well as an original dataset on US withdrawals from international institutions since 1945, the dissertation examines why some institutions are resilient while others decay after a hegemonic power withdraws. He disputes the idea that US disengagement is unique to the Trump presidency or that it inevitably undermines organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, and highlights how Europe could leverage its diplomatic credibility and soft power to sustain institutions under Trump 2.0.
Together, both recognitions highlight the academic excellence and broader societal relevance of Heinkelmann-Wild’s research, as well as its important contribution to debates on the international system.
Tim Heinkelmann-Wild is a Fellow in the Max Weber Programme at the EUI, affiliated with the Department of Political and Social Sciences. He holds a PhD from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich). His research focuses on the contestation of multilateral institutions and the relationship between power and international order. His dissertation, ‘After Exit: Alternative Leadership and Institutional Resilience after Hegemonic Withdrawal’, is available here.
Photo credits: David Ausserhofer