As a student of Latin American Studies at the University of Cologne from October 2004 to September 2010, Marlene’s’ main fields of studies ranged from Political Science over International Law to Latin American History and Portuguese Language. Tracking both of her main fields of interest – the EU and Latin America - she has been working as a student assistant at the Jean Monnet Chair of Prof. Wessels at the University of Cologne from May 2007 to May 2010 and as an intern at the German Embassy in Brasília, Brazil in the period from October 2008 to January 2009. In her final thesis she focused on the strategic partnership between the European Union and Brazil in the light of the concept of interregionalism.

Working itle of research project:

Europe's responsibility to protect its neighbourhood from mass atrocities:

From Kosovo to Syria - protection vs. intervention?

Supervisor: Professor John Peterson (University of Edinburgh)

Co-Supervisor: Professor Wolfgang Wessels (University of Cologne)

Departing from the lessons learned of the Kosovo intervention in 1999, this PhD thesis addresses the question whether the subsequent development of the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) actually make a different on whether and how Europe responds to mass atrocities in its neighbourhood. Defining the RtoP as an emerging international norm, this thesis applies a social constructivist framework to explore the influence of norms on EU foreign policy-making. It is assumed that international norms must always work their ways through the EU and national structures and politics, which can introduce important variations to the norm. The influence of the RtoP will be assessed by showing that the emerging international norm is distinctively used in foreign policy decisions and in communicating the basis for those choices to a wider audience. The chosen units of analysis are the UN institutions, the EU institutions and France, Germany and the UK. The empirical analysis starts from the lessons learned of the Kosovo intervention in 1999 raising the demand for a new international norm as well as for the creation of European defence capabilities in response to such crises. Tracing the development of the RtoP and the CSDP until 2011, the question whether the RtoP actually makes a difference will be answered by looking at two recent cases of mass atrocities and the European responses to them: the crisis Libya in 2011, as a case of RtoP implementation and the crisis in Syria from 2011 to 2012, as a case of non-implementation. The comparative case study design aims at shedding light not only on the relevance of the RtoP for Europe, but also on the relevance of the EU as a security actor in its neighbourhood.

 · Together with Koenig, Nicole (2011): "The Responsibility to Protect and the Libyan Crisis: Breakthrough or nothing new?", paper presented at the 7th European Peace Research Association (EuPRA) General Conference "Europe and the World" in Tampere, 20-22 July 2011.

· "Europe's First Couple: Necessities and Limits for claiming Franco-German leadership", conference background paper for the THESEUS Conference "Which Way Forward? Three Years after Lehmann, Two Years after Lisbon: Present Challenges, Strategic Choices and Future Perspectives of the EU", 24-25 November 2011, Cologne.

· Conference report on THESEUS Conference (see above), 24-25 November 2011, Cologne.

· "Options for EU engagement in post-conflict Libya", TEPSA Policy Brief, 9 March 2012

· "The responsibiliy to protect, Libya and the German Sonderweg", paper presented at the 53rd ISA Annual Convention in San Diego, 1-4 April 2012.

· Proceedings of the Workshop on "Responsibility to Protect : Future Aspects", held on 8 March 2012 in Brussels, Foreign Affairs Committee, European Parliament.

· "Humanizing Security? The EU's responsibility to protect in the Libyan crisis", FIIA Working Paper, No. 75, May 2012.

· Together with Dari, Elisa/ Price, Megan/ Van der Wal, Jense (Clingendael Institute of International Relations, The Netherlands) and Koenig, Nicole (2012): "CSDP Missions and Operations : Lessons Learned Processes", Study, Directorate-General for External Policies, Policy Department, European Parliament, 13 April.

· “Lessons learned from Kosovo? The Responsibility to Protect and the Common Security and Defence Policy”, EUSA Thirteen Biennial Conference, Baltimore, 9 – 11 May 2013

Teaching

· Seminar on "External Relations of the European Union" (together with Miguel Haubrich Seco), University of Cologne, winter term 2011/2012.

· Course on "International Cooperation in Europe and Beyond" (teaching assistant), University of Edinburgh, winter term 2012/2013.

· Organisation of an EXACT workshop at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) on "The EU and its neighbourhood - current challenges and conflicts, 7-8 September 2011.

· Discussant at conference on "The Arab Spring: Managing tensions and crisis inside and outside the EU", organised by TEPSA and CEE (Sciences Po, Paris), Fondation Universitaire, Brussels, 15 March 2012.

· Discussant at 2012 International BISA-ISA conference, panel on "Theorising EU external action - theoretical perspectives on institutions and decision-making processes", Edinburgh, 20-22 June.

· Discussant at round table discussion on "EU Executive Powers and External Action", University of Cologne, 26 September 2012.

· Presentation of PhD project at Cambridge University chaired by Dr. Geoffrey Edwards, 12 March 2013

· 
"A human security perspective on the future of Europe", expert workshop on "The changing nature of human security" organised by Chatham House und FRIDE, Brussels, 9 April 2013