As a DPhil candidate at DPIR and a Junior Researcher at the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI), Hannah’s research examines public-private interaction in cybersecurity governance.
Can you share with us your current studies?
I’m studying the interaction of public and private actors in the governance of (digital) infrastructure and cybersecurity. I am a first year DPhil in Politics (2024 – today) and have done my MPhil in Politics: European Politics and Society right before this (2022 – 2024).
Focusing on the ‘everyday’ behind formal policy outcomes and discursive governance paradigms, I combine Political Science, International Relations, and Cybersecurity scholarship and methodological toolkits. Working towards a paper-based DPhil, my very first paper advances a new analytical framework for decluttering the “Paradigm Paradox” which I identify in the governance domain of EU cybersecurity and digital infrastructure.
What inspired you to study at DPIR?
Having worked on cybersecurity topics across think tanks and the German government next to my undergraduate studies, my supervisor here at DPIR, Lucas Kello, was continuously recommended to me by his former supervisees. They strongly encouraged me to give Oxford a try for my masters – and luckily it worked, so I have been working with my supervisor ever since!
What do you enjoy most about life in DPIR?
I am a big fan of the weekly IR and Politics seminars during term. It’s a fantastic opportunity to engage with exciting scholars’ work and research in progress in a friendly and casual atmosphere. I’ve met countless of brilliant students and researchers since my start at DPIR 2022 and my project would be far from where it is now without their advice, input, and friendship.
What lessons do you think you’re learning that you will take through your life?
I’ve learned how strikingly important it is to really invest in interpersonal relationships as much as in doing the readings. Both are indeed equally important. Casually discussing a reading with your peers over coffee might give you as much inspiration as reading an entire book. That said, at DPIR one truly doesn’t go without the other and it’s the mix of deep insights and passionate arguing that I love.
What are your future plans?
For now, I am excited to hit the ground running with my DPhil. Afterwards I’m definitely keen to look into a Post Doc – but am just as excited to explore timely roles that allow me to draw on my DPhil research across think tanks, research institutes, or government.
What piece of advice or message would you give to prospective DPIR students?
Make friends and don’t forget to let yourself get distracted. A seminar or lecture that initially seems irrelevant to you at first glance may just be an unexpected inspiration for your own research.