I completed my undergraduate studies at Trinity College, Dublin in Modern Irish (minor) and Sociology (major). I then went on to complete my MA in International Security and Conflict Studies at Dublin City University before undertaking my PhD studies in Politics at Queens.

Anna did her bachelor’s in International Relations at Ivanovo State University. She holds MSc in Security Studies (University College London) and MA in International Conflict Studies (King’s College Studies).

Anna is particularly interested in the phenomena of terrorism, especially in the reasons of people’s joining terrorist groups and in psychological aspects of it (propaganda, formation of common identity, an image of an  “ enemy”etc). She is also interested in counter terrorist techniques and the usage of social media for promoting ideas. Among other broader interests are the Middle East, international conflicts and peace-building process in warring societies.

My research at undergraduate and MA level focused on women in Northern Ireland and concepts of identity and agency.  My PhD research however, includes an international perspective.  It takes as its case the agency of women from ‘caliphate’ territories governed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq (2013-2016).

In this context, my thesis aims to critically analyse the representations of women that are constructed through UK state and media discourse, as well as Daesh discourses.  As I discussed, it takes as its case the agency of women living in the ‘caliphate’ territories governed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq (2013-2016).  I work from the frame of feminist theorizations of war and security to examine the function and impact of these discourses.  Specifically, I aim to analyse their role in reproducing and legitimizing patriarchal constructions of social reality during periods of war and violent conflict.  Moreover, I employ narrative analysis to examine the ways in which women’s everyday lives and their perceptions, social attitudes and identities are impacted and informed by the discourses outlined.  My research questions are: How are women and their ‘roles’ portrayed in UK state and media discourse, as well as Daesh discourses?  How do these depictions influence social practices, attitudes, and power relations in relation to women?  What impact do such discourses have on women and how are they negotiated and challenged by women?

M.A. Politics, Queen’s University, Belfast (2016)

B.A. History and Politics, Northumbria University (2014)

Supervisors:

Dr. Keith Breen

Dr. Cillian McBride

Awards:

Department for the Economy (DfE) Postgraduate Research Studentship

My PhD research comes under the remit of the Centre for the Study of Risk and Inequality (CSRI) and the project's theme will examine the political economy behind energy transitions. The 'transition' in question is to what degree there is a movement away from fossil fuel usage towards renewable sources of energy in the 'Global South'. To assess this, my comparative study research will focus on how China - an external actor - impacts on renewable energy transitions within specific developing countries.

Academic Awards and Achievements

PISP Award for Highest Marks (2013-2014).

Postgraduate Bursary Award (2015).

Best MA Dissertation (2016) Award in the School of History Anthropology Philosophy and Politics (HAPP).

Katie is originally from California, where she completed her BA in International Relations and Anthropology/Sociology at Mills College in Oakland, CA. She later came to Queen’s University Belfast where she earned her MA with Distinction in Violence, Terrorism and Security. 

This project will follow on from the research undertaken for my dissertation as a requirement of the MA in Violence, Terrorism, and Security at Queen’s University Belfast. While my MA dissertation sought to present a hybrid theory of securitization in unconventional spaces this project will seek to understand discourses of threat and how they transcend into practice through industrial actors. This will primarily be through a study of protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs to identify how and why they seek to influence the logistical practices of counter-piracy practice? 

The project will no doubt explore further questions such as to how the significant role of private businesses affects understandings of sovereignty in international relations? How do states ensure they are responsible for maintaining a criminal justice system in the maritime domain? What is the referent object/securitization dynamic between key actors (private business, P&I clubs, shipping companies, states, international organizations)? What/Who is the law of the sea protecting and why? The project will also seek to identify methods of best practice in counter-piracy regimes and allow for the voices of seafarers and industry to be addressed throughout. 

‌All of these questions and more will contribute to the projects interdisciplinary nature and a mixed methods approach that will allow the exploration of international trade law, maritime law, security studies, piracy studies and international relations in one of the most exciting, unconventional spaces of global governance. 

Technology has long been touted as a solution to food insecurity, albeit it with fractious views. Public perception, regulations and legislation, property rights, cost and differing knowledge systems present just some of the key issues that place technology at the interface of science and politics, in a food security context. As such my research looks at where science and politics comes together, where it divides and what difference and/or impact this has for food security. In doing so, I will explore notions expertise, coproduction and boundary work throughout key stages of technology innovation to ultimately aim to answer the overarching question of this research; where does food security politics and food production technologies relate?

Food security, food safety and nutrition, science – politics interfaces, expertise and decision making, qualitative methods.

MSc Advanced food safety, Distinction (Queens University Belfast)

BSc (Hons) Food and Nutrition, Second class upper division (University of Ulster, Coleraine)

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Although located in the Politics department of HAPP as this work involves tracing comprehensive changes in UK law and the application of legal theory to the research topic, the PhD draws on and adds to both political and legal scholarship.

Prior to my current venture in higher education, I studied for a BA Honours degree in Politics at Newcastle University and later completed an MA in Comparative Ethnic Conflict at QUB.

In between periods of study I have worked in a number of different roles in various offices across the political sphere and in the public sector. My employment history includes a year of working for a Liberal Democrat MP in Westminster, six months in the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels and, most recently, a year working for an all-island policy think tank in Belfast.

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