GIGA Doctoral Programme

Elianne Shewring joined the GIGA as a Doctoral Researcher, in November 2024. The title of her dissertation is: “From autocracy to democracy: a comparative analysis of the digital control mechanisms employed by China, Iran, and Israel". Get to know more about Elianne in this interview.

Political scientist Dr. Hana Attia receives this year’s Leibniz “Humanities and Social Sciences” PhD prize for her research on international sanctions. The award ceremony took place on 27 November 2024 during the annual meeting of the Leibniz Association in Berlin. The GIGA congratulates Hana on this award. 

Mona Saleh successfully completed her PhD! She defended her dissertation on “Surviving Complexity: How International Organisations Claim Legitimacy Under Conditions of Institutional Overlap. The Case of the African Union” at the Leuphana University Lüneburg on 27 September 2024.

Dima Abu Alkheir joined the GIGA as a Doctoral Researcher, in October 2025. The title of her dissertation is: “Staging Religious Legitimacy through Custodianship: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Jerusalem since 1967.” Get to know more about Dima in this interview:

Francisco Ahumada Lobos joined the GIGA Doctoral Programme in October 2025. The title of his dissertation is “More Sustainable Supply Chains: Instruments, Opportunities and Risks.” Get to know more about Francisco in this interview.

Soumya Chaturvedi joined the GIGA as a Doctoral Researcher in October 2025. The title of her dissertation is: “Agency amid structural dependence: How systemic energy transitions shape the foreign policy of emerging powers”. Learn more about Soumya in this interview.

We are delighted to welcome six new colleagues who joined this autumn to begin their dissertation projects within the framework of the GIGA Doctoral Programme.

GIGA Doctoral Researcher Olena Osypenkova is about to complete her eight-week Visiting Research Stay at The University of Cambridge, where she is working on her dissertation project “The Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation Towards the Middle East and North Africa Through a Strategic Culture Lens: Context, Rationale, Strategies.” Learn more about Lena’s experience in this interview.

Our Doctoral Researchers held their General Assembly in December last year, and elected new representatives. Get to know Adhiraaj, Alina, Cornelius and Mahima.

Elianne Shewring joined the GIGA as a Doctoral Researcher, in November 2024. The title of her dissertation is: “From autocracy to democracy: a comparative analysis of the digital control mechanisms employed by China, Iran, and Israel". Get to know more about Elianne in this interview.

Political scientist Dr. Hana Attia receives this year’s Leibniz “Humanities and Social Sciences” PhD prize for her research on international sanctions. The award ceremony took place on 27 November 2024 during the annual meeting of the Leibniz Association in Berlin. The GIGA congratulates Hana on this award. 

Mona Saleh successfully completed her PhD! She defended her dissertation on “Surviving Complexity: How International Organisations Claim Legitimacy Under Conditions of Institutional Overlap. The Case of the African Union” at the Leuphana University Lüneburg on 27 September 2024.