Claas is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government and a Junior Research Fellow at Worcester College, University of Oxford. He was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University’s Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance and at the Blavatnik School. His research lies in international political economy, focusing on geoeconomic power and vulnerability, the subject of his current book project. Claas’s related work examines economic sanctions, tariffs, export controls, and the intersection of geoeconomics with international business, climate policy, and international organisations. His research has been published in International Studies Quarterly and The Review of International Organizations.

Claas holds a DPhil in International Relations and an MPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford. He also holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen and was a visiting student at Harvard University. He has taught quantitative data analysis, statistics, and other topics related to his research at Oxford. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked as a management consultant. Claas was Rowing World Champion in 2015 and represented Oxford in the 2018 Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. Now, he enjoys surfing, where his passion far exceeds his skills.