Appointments and education

I joined the department of politics of the university of Amsterdam in June 2012. My previous posting was with the Department of War Studies at King's College London. I received a PhD in political science and international relations from Sciences Po, Paris. Prior to this, I studied for my MA in the College of Europe in Bruges and in Sciences Po. At the UvA, I am a member of the Institute for Ethnic and Migration Studies (IMES) and of ACCESS Europe.

During my time as a doctoral candidate and post-doctoral researcher, I worked for various EU-funded research projects, including CHALLENGE ( The Changing Landscape of Liberty and Security in Europe , FP6), IN:EX ( Converging and Conflicting Ethical Values in the Internal/External Security Continuum in Europe , FP7), and SAPIENT ( Supporting fundamental rights, privacy and ethics in surveillance technologies , FP7).

I have participated in a variety of initiatives such as the setting-up of the Critical approaches to security in Europe network (c.a.s.e. collective), and in the editorial teams of two international peer-reviewed publications, the francophone journal Cultures & Conflits (2007-2012) and the ISA journal International Political Sociology (2007-2012). I am currently a member of the editorial board of Cultures & Conflits.

• CHALLENGE Archive

• SAPIENT

Research interests

Most of my work to date has been informed by the question: how is authority exercised in contemporary transnational politics? I am particularly interested in examining the effects of European construction on  forms and practices of authority, both within the European Union and through the external relations and foreign policies of the Union. Have we moved beyond the horizons that inform most of our understandings and accounts of authority, the territorial nation-state and sovereignty? And if so, should this move be considered as a radical break? How do these purported transformations affect collective and personal freedoms and rights?

So far, I have worked on these issues in relation with the European Union's neighbourhood policy (ENP), EU internal security and border control policies. My doctoral research focused on the ENP, discussing practices of authority with regard questions of technical and financial assistance, mobility, and security. My research has since developed in distinct but related directions, involving EU internal security policies with a strong focus on the use of technological devices, in particular databases, and EU border control policies, particularly in relation to the Union's external border agency FRONTEX.

Back boiler interests, finally, include current discussions in the discipline of international relations on the question of material-semiotics, on the development of IR thinking tools informed by discussions in the field of political sociology and science and technology studies, as well as critical approaches to security.

Cultures & Conflits

Cultures & Conflits is one of the leading francophone journals in the field of international studies, and welcomes submissions in both English and French. All articles are accessible (with an embargo) from the journal's website.

• Cultures&Conflits website

• No ancillary activities