Dr. Christoph V. Steinert

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.