Rebecca Brown
Rebecca is the Events Officer at Policy Institute and Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London. Prior to this, she worked in PhD Registry Services at King’s whilst also undertaking events management consultancy work. Previously, she worked for various think tanks, organising events in Europe, North America and Africa, mainly focusing on human rights, security and defence, international development and healthcare policy. She is a self-confessed “modern-slavery geek” and is setting up an educational not-for-profit, the “Universities Against Modern Slavery Alliance (UAMSA)’, which focuses on education and movement building within our Universities to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking.
Rebecca has a Master’s degree in International Relations and the European Union (with Mandarin Chinese) from Aston University, and a BA in Spanish and Italian from the University of Bangor, Wales.
Rebecca dreams of one day undertaking a PhD and getting a job as a researcher specialising in human trafficking and modern slavery.
Jemma Challenger
Jemma Challenger is an MA student of International Conflict Studies at King’s College London and a recent graduate of the University of Leeds, where she studied a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Her central research interests include debates surrounding the nature and scope of UN intervention in conflict, as well as peacebuilding and stabilisation processes, the qualitative study of comparative civil wars, and the political economy of conflict. Regionally, Jemma is focused on the African continent as well as the Middle East.
Cristina Romero-Caballero Cuttell
My name is Cristina Romero-Caballero Cuttell. I have just embarked on my MA in International Relations at KCL and hold a BSc in International Business from the University of Surrey, from which I graduated in 2019. During this past year I have been working in marketing, publicity and advertising so this MA is a bit of a U-turn in my career, but one I am really excited about. I have always loved to engage and learn about the world of international affairs, the issues the world faces together with trying to understand how these could be resolved.
I am particularly interested in the topic of migration, especially African migration routes towards Europe and their economic, political, humanitarian and security impact on European nations. Another matter which I am highly interested in is climate change. Human impact on the planet will have severe and irreversible consequences not only for the environment, but for the social order of the world we live in. I am especially fascinated in tackling this topic in regard to its implications for national security, transnational conflicts and migration patterns.
Clara Didier
My name is Clara DIDIER, I’m a 20 years old French International Relations MA student at King’s College. I would like to become a war reporter in the future and work especially in two regions, the Middle-East and South America. I’ve always been interested in war related subjects as my father taught history and geography when I was younger. And more recently, since the Bataclan’s attacks as a family member was in the front line, in terrorism. Regarding war I am particularly interested in secret wars, secrecy, hidden intelligence, what is happening backstage and the results of it, sometimes leading to dirty consequences. Regarding terrorism, it’s a human and sociological curiosity that pushed me in studying how someone (especially citizens in democratic countries) can decide to enroll, radicalise and use violence.
Marie Blessing Gilbert
My name is Marie Blessing Gilbert. I am currently studying full time for a Masters degree in Terrorism, Security and Society in King’s College London. I completed one undergraduate studies in KCL and another in the Rep. of Ireland. I have been a member of An Garda Siochana (the Irish Police Force) in Ireland for the past fifteen years and during this time I have also consulted for international organisations in the area of peace and security. My main areas of interest are radicalisation, terrorism in Ireland and East Africa.
Orlanda Gill
Orlanda Gill is a MA National Security Studies student at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. Previously, she completed her B.A. in Politics at the University of Warwick. She is interested by emerging technology, the future of warfare and the global order. These interests have partly developed through chairing Student Young Pugwash talks on lethal autonomous weapons, and China’s nuclear policy, as well as her growing concerns with global governance.
In addition, she is interested in China’s role in the South China Sea and China’s foreign policy, as well as more broadly the Asia-Pacific. In her spare time, she enjoys learning languages. She presently speaks Japanese, French and English, and hopes to, one day, speak five languages in total— specifically Russian and Chinese as she finds the cultures, politics and histories associated with these languages extremely fascinating.
Amber Holland
Amber graduated from Royal Holloway with a BA (Hons) in History and International Relations with an International Year, and is now enjoying pursuing an MA in Conflict, Security and Development at King’s College London. Her research interests include issues relating to the differing experiences of women in war, producing reports in her undergrad on topics ranging from contraception insecurity in conflict zones threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, to the experience of women under ISIS. In particular, she finds feminist theory a compelling prism through which to analyse differing topics, completing her undergrad dissertation on the complex relationship between terrorism and patriarchal values.
In her spare time, Amber enjoys sailing, cooking, and attempting to keep her cat, Oscar, out of her home learning space.
Sandra Huang
Sandra is an MA candidate in Intelligence and International Security at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. She holds a BA degree in Business Administration at Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. Previously, she worked as a security specialist in a private firm in Beijing and London, collecting and analysing open-source intelligence for the APAC and EMEA region and providing security assessment for international business travellers. Her research focuses on financial intelligence and its use to combat transnational corruption, and the security implications of global financial crime. Her wider research interests include national security intelligence, the practice of open-source intelligence, cybersecurity and the security dimension of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Mary Hood
Mary is from the United States and is currently studying for an MA in Science and International Security at King’s College London. She graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in spring 2020 with a BS in mechanical engineering and is currently serving as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Her writing interests, shaped by her background, include U.S. defense policy, airpower, artificial intelligence, and lethal autonomous weapons. Mary is also interested in various topics involving women and mental health in the military. At the conclusion of her programme, she will enter pilot training in the United States. In her free time, Mary likes to bake, read, hike, and snowboard.
Sonia Martínez Girón
Sonia is an MA International Affairs student at KCL. She holds a Bachelor in Modern Languages from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
In her Bachelor thesis she explored the use of language in the context of the Spanish Civil War.
She is a gastronomy enthusiast.
Sonia follows International Security issues with particular interest.
Sophie Lane
I have recently graduated from Cardiff University having obtained a degree in Law with a Professional Placement Year. I am now undertaking an MA in International Peace and Security. Coming from a military family it came naturally to me to have an interest in the UK’s armed forces presence in the world, and the politics attached to this. In addition to this, having spent much of my childhood in Kenya, I have become interested in development of the country’s relationship with the UK. Whilst I am fairly new to this area of study, my other interests include the impact of climate change on global security, women in law and politics, and the development of US foreign policy throughout American presidents.
Sena Namlu
Sena Namlu is a youth and women’s right activist. She has actively partaken in social profit organizations working on particularly girls and youth empowerment — their inclusion in policy-making, conflict resolution, and peace-building processes, and initiated social projects. She is a board member of YCDC, the representative institution of Youth 20 in Turkey, and attended the Y20 Summit in Argentina and G(irls)20 Summit in Japan as Turkey’s delegate. She is also a fellow of the Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship Programme. After graduation, she worked within Doctors of World Turkey Office as a Grant Officer. Sena is currently a graduate student in the Intelligence and International Security MA Program at the War Studies Department of KCL. Her research interests include processes of foreign policy-making, providing and analyzing information for decision-makers, as well as the role of women and non-governmental actors in conflict resolution and peace-building.
Katherine Nichols
Katherine is a part of the MA Strategic Communications program at King’s College London. She is keenly interested in the art of influence strategy and diplomacy. Her dissertation is titled ‘Influence Strategy of US-Iran: Escalation, Play-making and Strategic Communication’. Her research is situated where traditional persuasion meets 21st century technology and what that means for relationship-building and governance. She has experience working in US embassies, covering topics ranging from nuclear non-proliferation to disinformation and elections. Prior to KCL, Katherine earned her BA in International Affairs from the University of Georgia, USA.
Caoimhe O’ Dwyer
Caoimhe O’ Dwyer is a Dual Degree MA student of Intelligence and International Security at King’s College London and International Security at Sciences Po Paris. Caoimhe received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Dublin City University and also studied at Corvinus University of Budapest. Her research interests are Counter Terrorism Policy, Political Sociology, Surveillance and Human Rights with regional focuses on the Middle East and Europe.
Mariam Qureshi
I’m Mariam Qureshi, an MA International Affairs student concentrating in Espionage and Surveillance at the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London. I received my BA (Honors) in Political Science from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Pakistan. I explored the third pillar of Responsibility to Protect for my undergraduate research. My wide research areas include hybrid and proxy wars, cyber security and global health security.
Anne Preesman
My name is Anne Preesman, I am 21 and I just moved to London for my MA in Intelligence and International Security.
I did my BA in International Relations and Organisations at Leiden University. Since this was a Bachelor of Science, I tend to take a more scientific approach to my writing.
I wrote my Bachelor thesis about the combat tactics of insurgents during the Chechen wars. While following the Women in Writing programme, I would like to both broaden and deepen my knowledge on this topic and especially focus on the women involved in the conflict. My goal is to move away from portraying women just as victims of the war. Furthermore, I would like to analyse how female participation impacts an armed conflict.
Rixa Riess
Rixa Riess is doing her Masters in International Relations. Previously, she completed her Bachelor’s degree in German Studies and Economics at the University of Mannheim.
In recent years, she has lived in Mexico and Israel and has written for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung in Germany, among others.
She is particularly interested in the political divisions in European countries and their effects on national societies. Against the backdrop of the current Corona crisis, she wonders how this intensifies global political conflicts and social disunion and what long-term consequences the pandemic could have in this regard.
Harriet Turner
I’m Harriet, an MA National Security Studies student at King’s College London and a recent Politics and International Relations graduate. My final year dissertation explored the UK’s decision to renew Trident and was titled ‘Chasing Status: was status the dominant driver of the UK’s decision to renew its Trident nuclear deterrent in 2016?’ During my undergraduate degree, I always found that I was most interested in security and strategy focused modules which is why I was specifically drawn to National Security at King’s. My broader writing interests include cybersecurity strategy and policy, radicalisation, counter-terrorism, status and emotions in an International Relations context and non-proliferation.
