Dr. Hana Attia Appointed Junior Professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg

Research and teaching at the professorship are situated at the intersection of Peace and Conflict Studies and Security Studies. The primary focus is on how states and international organisations can respond to and overcome national and international challenges to peace and security posed by both state and non-state actors. A major area of research at this professorship is the use of economic statecraft by states and international organisations – such as economic sanctions and foreign assistance – to address issues including nuclear proliferation, terrorism, democratic backsliding, and armed conflict. The professorship primarily engages in empirical-analytical research that employs quantitative methods, utilising observational data and original survey experiments. However, it also engages with research focused on single cases, particularly in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region. 

With the professorship, Dr. Attia returns to the GIGA, where she is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Middle East Studies. Her research focuses on sanctions and analyses the decision-making processes behind such state-led coercive measures as well as citizens’ perspectives hereon, in particular public opinion around the use of instruments like these in foreign policy. She was previously a Research Fellow at the GIGA until 2023, having completed her doctorate as part of the GIGA Doctoral Programme. For her dissertation “Biased Coercion: The Imposition, Management, and Termination of US Sanctions,” she was awarded second place in the “Aquila Ascendens” Prize for Young Talents in Security Policy in 2023 and the Leibniz Doctoral Prize in 2024 (Humanities and Social Sciences category). 

The GIGA congratulates Dr. Attia on this scientific recognition and we look forward to our further cooperation!