Philipp Ther (* 1967) is professor of Central European History at the University of Vienna, where he also guides the Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET). Previously he was professor of comparative European history at the EUI in Florence. His book Die neue Ordnung auf dem alten Kontinent. Eine Geschichte des neoliberalen Europa (Suhrkamp) was awarded with the non-fiction bookprize of the Leipzig bookfare in 2015. An English version titled Europe since 1989: A history was published by Princeton University Press. Before he published in English The Dark Side of Nation States: Ethnic Cleansing in Modern Europe, New York: Berghahn Press, 2014 (German 2011, Polish 2012, Czech 2017) and Center Stage: Operatic Culture and Nation Building in 19th Century Central Europe, West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2014 (Czech 2008). He has co-edited twelve other books, his articles have been translated into fifteen European languages. His most recent books are a synthesis on the history of refugees in modern Europe Die Außenseiter. Flucht, Flüchtlinge und Integration im modernen Europa, Berlin: Suhrkamp, 2017 and Das andere Ende der Geschichte: Über die Große Transformation, Berlin: Suhrkamp 2019. An extended English version The Outsiders: Refugees in Europe since 1492 was published by Princeton UP in the fall of 2019. In 2019 he was awarded the Wittgenstein Prize of the Austrian Research Fund. This award is endowed with 1.5 million Euros and is the highest recognition for scientists in Austria.

Past projects:

• Doctoral college „Galizien und sein multikulturelles Erbe“ (co-applicant amont 8 professors), project duration: 1.3.2013-28.2.2015, 1.3.2016-28.2.2019
• Transformations from Below: Shipyards and Labour Relations in the Uljanik (Croatia) and Gdynia (Poland) Shipyards since the 1980s. Project directors: Ulf Brunnbauer (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, Regensburg), Philipp Ther (Institute for East European History, University of Vienna). Project duration: 2016–2019. Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Wissenschaftsfonds (FWF) http://www.ios-regensburg.de/forschung/projekte/transformations-from-below.html
• 3.“Volunteering in Local Communities between Late Socialism and Liberal Capitalism: The History of Volunteer Fire Departments in Germany and East Central Europe”, D-A-Projekt in cooperation with the ZZF Potsdam (Thomas Lindenberger), funded by FWF and DFG, project duration: 1.3.2017-28.2.2019

Research interests

• History of transformation(s) since the 1980s
• Social and cultural history of East Central Europe in the 19th/20th century.
• Music and history
• Comparative nationalism studies
• Ethnic cleansing
• Theory of history, especially comparative approaches and cultural transfer

Complete list of publications