Christoph Steinert is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of
Mannheim. He defended his doctoral dissertation entitled “A conceptual
and empirical study of political imprisonment” in February 2022. His
doctoral thesis includes a novel conceptualization of political
prisoners and empirical evidence on the determinants, the duration,
and the consequences of political imprisonment in autocratic regimes.
Beyond his doctoral research, Christoph’s research interests include
human rights violations in autocracies, norm diffusion processes in
intergovernmental organizations, and determinants of post-conflict
stability. He currently works on a grant proposal that seeks to
analyze the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on attitudes to
human rights in Europe. Christoph also holds a Master’s degree in
International Relations from the University of Oxford (Somerville
College) and he gained working experience in the United Nations Human
Rights Council and as data analyst at the Oxford Poverty and Human
Development Initiative.