Kathrin Bachleitner

Kathrin Bachleitner is the IKEA Foundation Research Fellow in International Relations at Lady Margaret Hall. She received her MPhil (in International Relations and Economics) from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, and DPhil (in International Relations) from the University of Oxford.

Her research focuses on collective identity, memory and values within International Relations. She is looking at how legacies of war and their contemporary interpretations shape political communities, normative perceptions and choice in the context of foreign and refugee policies.

Case studies include how WWII and the memory of the Holocaust affected European decisions vis-à-vis the Middle East conflict. Her most recent project is dedicated to studying the impact of narratives on European governments’ responses to refugees (Germany, Austria, Hungary), and the effect of war trauma on national identity in Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Syria.

She has worked for International NGOs, the EU, the Foreign Ministry in Vienna, and developmental agencies in the Palestinian Territories.