Antonia Juelich

Antonia Juelich is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her research focuses on conflict and terrorism, internal armed group dynamics, and peacebuilding, with a regional interest in Africa.

She analyzes how socio-organizational processes of conflict and violence unfold, how power is exercised and contested at the local level, and how (dis)order emerges in war zones. Specifically, her book project, Turbulence and Stability: Civilian Cooperation in Boko Haram's Insurgency, asks how and why some civilians become embedded in militant organizations while others do not. The case study analysis is based on extensive fieldwork in Nigeria, drawing on primary in-depth interviews with former Boko Haram associates and conflict-affected community members. By tracing insurgent-civilian interactions within their specific institutional settings, the study shifts away from the politically charged assumptions of collusion to instead focus on constraints for civilian — and armed group — survival. The findings and those of other related projects engage with current conflict trends and hold policy implications for counterinsurgency and post-conflict interventions.

She also researches the evolving international security risks posed by terrorist groups leveraging emerging technologies.

Antonia received a Ph.D. in International Development and an M.Sc. in African Studies from the University of Edinburgh. She also holds an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a B.A. in Social Sciences from Humboldt University Berlin. She has worked for the United Nations, the German Corporation for International Development (GIZ), and non-governmental organizations in Germany, India, Nigeria, Thailand, and the United States.