Research Agenda

In a Nutshell

In a nutshell, my research examines how power, security and political order are shaped by the interaction of energy relations, critical infrastructure, cyberspace and complex systems of global and regional governance. Grounded in International Relations theory, it explores how states and other actors navigate interdependence, geopolitical competition and institutional complexity, with particular attention to regional order and the strategic agency of small states. Methodologically, the research is predominantly qualitative, complemented by descriptive quantitative analysis.

Above all, I place particular value on originality in research and on developing independent perspectives that offer fresh ways of understanding complex political phenomena.

1) Energy Geopolitics 

The twenty-first-century international system is increasingly defined by how energy interdependence structures relations of power and vulnerability. This area of inquiry examines the strategic role of transnational pipelines, liquefied natural gas networks and interconnected electricity grids in shaping regional security architectures and geopolitical alignments.

The research investigates how these infrastructures shape durable patterns of dependence and influence, while also mediating the effects of the global energy transition. It further analyses the roles of states, multinational corporations and international institutions in shaping energy governance and managing competition over critical energy flows and resources.

2) Critical Infrastructure and Cyberspace

Material, logistical and digital networks constitute foundational infrastructures of global power and important sites of geopolitical contestation, vulnerability and resilience. This domain examines transnational energy grids, global maritime chokepoints, overland trade corridors, subsea communication cables and orbital infrastructure as interconnected physical and digital systems through which states and other actors exercise power and leverage strategic dependencies.

The research focuses on how these cross-border networks are exposed to multi-domain threats, from physical sabotage and kinetic disruption to state-sponsored cyber operations and hybrid coercion. It examines how vulnerabilities within interconnected infrastructures can be exploited to disrupt essential flows, generate strategic dependencies and reshape patterns of power, security and regional order.

3) Global Governance and Diplomacy

Institutional fragmentation and intensifying geopolitical competition are reshaping the architectures of global governance. The research examines the emergence of regime complexity, in which overlapping institutions, informal coalitions and minilateral arrangements increasingly supplement and reshape traditional multilateral frameworks.

It analyses how states, major powers and regional actors navigate this evolving environment through adaptive diplomatic strategies and institutional hedging. Particular attention is given to how authority, legitimacy and external alignment are shaped and contested within and across regional orders.

4) Small-State Foreign Policy

Small states occupy a structurally distinct position within an international system increasingly shaped by great-power competition, regime complexity and energy interdependence. This area of inquiry examines how states with limited material capabilities exercise strategic agency through hedging, coalition-building and niche diplomacy to navigate external pressures, manage asymmetric dependencies and preserve room for manoeuvre.

5) International Relations Theory

Grounded in sustained engagement with International Relations theory, this strand of research focuses on questions of order, interdependence, sovereignty and political authority. It draws particularly on critical and post-structuralist approaches to examine how knowledge about international politics is produced, how power shapes the construction of political concepts, and how theoretical frameworks influence the interpretation of global and regional orders. Particular attention is given to regional order politics as a space between the global and the domestic, where international structures, regional dynamics and domestic political processes intersect and shape one another.

Research Approach and Methodology

Methodologically, my research is predominantly qualitative, combining textual and documentary analysis, policy analysis, discourse analysis, case-study research and comparative inquiry. This qualitative work is complemented by the systematic use of descriptive quantitative data, including statistics on energy flows, trade and other relevant indicators, to contextualise and substantiate empirical findings.