Biography

My fields of work and interest lie in the areas of peace and conflict research as well as development research. In particular, I am interested in the dynamics that transform armed conflicts into procedural conflicts and the processes by which competing groups of actors organise access to resources, which is often contentious. I am currently designing a research project in insular Southeast Asia that looks at the effects of internal refugee movements on local use of and access to resources in a comparative regional perspective. I am pursuing a qualitative, actor-centred research approach that methodologically follows participant observation during extended field research visits. Equally, it is important for me to conduct socially relevant research and make its findings accessible to both the actors I research and the non-university public. I studied languages, economics and cultural area studies with a focus on Southeast Asia at the University of Passau and completed my doctorate at the Institute of Ethnology at Goethe University in Frankfurt.

Research interests

Conceptual: anthropological conflict theory, development theories

Thematic: peace and conflict studies, flight and displacement, identity politics

Regional: insular Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia