Prof. Dr Andrea Gawrich is Professor for International integration with special reference to Eastern Europe at the Justus Liebig University Giessen.

Her research focusses on the following areas Promotion of democracy, Security policy, Conflict research and to EU, OSCE, Council of Europe and NATO. She currently heads the EU project SHAPEDEM-EU to promote democracy in the EU neighbourhood. At the heart of this is the idea of understanding democracy as a social practice and collective learning process and developing innovative instruments for cooperation between the EU and its neighbouring countries.

She began her academic career by studying history, political science and social economics at the University of Bochum, wo sie 2003 mit einer Arbeit zu ethnischen Minderheiten im Transformationsprozess Polens promovierte. Nach Stationen an verschiedenen Universitäten (u. a. an der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), a deputy professorship and her habilitation in 2011, in 2012 she was appointed to the Justus Liebig University Giessen.

Prof. Gawrich is deputy managing director of the Giessen centre Eastern Europe (GiZo) and heads Section IV there "Security Cultures in Eastern Europe". Her work pursues a comprehensive concept of security that goes far beyond military policy issues and focuses in particular on developments in the Eastern Partnership countries and their relations with Russia.

From 2021 to 2023, she was Chairwoman of the German Society for Political Science (DGfP)She is also a member of the German Political Science Association (DVPW)the German Society for East European Studies (DGO) and the German University Association (DHV).