Björn Dressel is an Associate Professor, and Director of Research and Impact, at the Crawford School of Public Policy. His research is concerned with issues of comparative constitutionalism, judicial politics and governance and public sector reform in Asia. He received his Ph.D. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where he also received his M.A. in the same field. In addition, Dr. Dressel holds a law degree from the University of Trier School of Law in Germany, where he specialized in International Law, European Union Law and Constitutional Law. He is the recipient of Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Research Award (2013-2019) for his work on judicial politics in Southeast Asia.

Over his academic career, Dr. Dressel has been as visiting scholar at the Asia Foundation (Manila) in the Philippines, the Centre for Excellence for International Courts (iCourts) in Denmark, the Centre for Asian and Pacific Studies (Seikei University) in Japan and the Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS) in Thailand, as well as the Institute of Economic Development, Growth & Equity in South Africa, and the Institute for Administration of Justice, College of Law, University of the Philippines.

He has also been a consultant for the World Bank, Brookings and Chemonics International, and a Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Professorial Lecturer in International Development, as well as an Associate Lecturer at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Dr. Dressel continues to provide advisory services for international development agencies and governments in areas of public financial management, governance and rule of law reform. He is also the co-editor of the Asia & Pacific Policy Studies Journal.

His work is published in a range of international journals, including Governance; Administration & Society; International Political Science Review, and Pacific Review – many are available at his Academia and ResearchGate websites. He is also the editor of The Judicialization of Politics in Asia (Routledge, 2012) as well as co-editor of From Aquino II to Duterte (2010-2018). Change, Continuity – and Rupture (ISEAS 2019) and Politics and Constitutions in Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2016). You can follow him on Twitter @BjoernDressel.

Research Interest

Comparative Judicial Politics and Constitutionalism
Governance and Public Sector Reform
Public Finance in Emerging Markets
Research Design and Methodology
Regional Expertise: Southeast Asia; sub-Saharan Africa