Dr Katja Daniels

I am a PDRA on the project Transformative Research Actions for Resilient Coastal Communities (TRACC): https://www.ukcoastalresilience.org/project/transformative-research-actions-for-resilient-coastal-communities-tracc

My academic background is in International Politics. My PhD, completed in 2015, focused on the politics of international investment law, drawing on a closer analysis of 46 investment disputes arising out of environmental protection measures. At the time, Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) was normally perceived to simply involve disputes between investors and states. In contrast, my thesis showed how most of these investment disputes had emerged from local community groups or wider social movements seeking to protect the environment, and it explored the role of international investment law in these political struggles.

Since completing my PhD, I have worked in a variety of research support and management roles at Aberystwyth University. I was the Academic Network Manager of the Creating Safer Space research network (https://creating-safer-space.com/) from 2020 - 2025, GCRF Institutional Strategy Officer from 2018 - 2020, and Research Development Officer for the Social Sciences from 2016 - 2018.