Antonia (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies. Her research interests lie in the field of Critical International Relations (IR), especially Feminist and Decolonial theories, and Critical Military Studies (CMS). She holds an MA in International Conflict Studies from King’s College London (UK), and a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences from University College Maastricht (Netherlands).

Prior to her doctoral research, she most recently gained professional experience working as an Analyst for the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL). As such, she worked on conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan.

Research Interests:

• Feminist and Decolonial International Relations
• Gender in International Politics and War
• Militarism and Militarisation
• Decolonising International Relations Education

Thesis:

Title: Everyday Processes of Accepting and Rejecting Militarisation: The Case of Germany's 'Zeitenwende'

Abstract:
The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has been declared a ‘watershed moment’ (Zeitenwende) for Germany’s foreign policy identity. After embracing a post-war identity of military reluctance, Germany is now openly positioning itself as a military power. This shift is reflected in the government’s announcement of an additional 100 billion Euro military budget in February 2022, followed by a constitutional amendment in March 2025 to exempt a further 500 billion Euro in military spending from the ‘debt brake’, as well as renewed debates on military conscription. While existing research primarily examines Germany’s evolving strategic role in the current geopolitical landscape, it pays comparatively little attention to the processes that render this renewed militarisation intelligible and acceptable within society. Drawing on Feminist International Relations and Critical Military Studies, this project understands militarisation as a sociological process that relies on militarism as ideology to justify and normalise the preparation for military activity and war. To understand how certain power relations are evoked to render militarisation acceptable, I ask: What are the everyday processes through which Germany’s recent ‘re-militarisation’ is rendered intelligible and acceptable within society? To answer this question, I analyse how militarism is reproduced and resisted through daily interactions within society. Overall, I aim to demonstrate how support for military responses to conflict is sustained through ongoing processes of justification that depend on, and reinforce, binary and exclusionary gender and racial relations.