Nicole received a Master's degree in Politics and Management from the University of Constance. She absolved her second Master's degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy at the College of Europe (Bruges). During her studies, she gained work experience at the German Mission to the United Nations in New York, the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce, and the German-Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce and at the Faculty of Politics and Management, University of Constance. After the completion of her studies, Nicole worked as a research assistant in an EU-funded project on early warning and conflict prevention at King's College (London) and as personal assistant to Prof. Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (Potsdam). Her main research interests are security policy, conflict prevention and development policy.
| October 2010 – February 2011 | University of Cologne |
| March 2011 – October 2011 | Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Rome |
| November 2011 – March 2012 | Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), Brussels |
| April 2012 – September 2013 | University of Edinburgh |
Title of research project: Causes of (in)-coherence: The EU's response to complex emergencies in Africa
Supervisor: Professor John Peterson (University of Edinburgh)
Co-Supervisor: Professor Wolfgang Wessels (University of Cologne)
One of the most prominent criticisms of the EU's external action is the lack of coherence between different actors, policies and instruments. This thesis aims to explore the causes of (in)-coherence. Competing hypotheses will be derived from theoretical approaches emphasising the role of institutions and ideas on the one hand, and rationalist approaches stressing the role of interests and power on the other. The empirical analysis focuses on the short- to medium term crisis management of the EU; a field in which different ideas, interests, institutional actors, and policies meet in an environment marked by uncertainty and time constraints. The analysis distinguishes different dimensions of coherence, namely vertical, horizontal, institutional, and multilateral coherence. The research is based on the comparison of two case studies of EU crisis management in Africa displaying different degrees of (in)-coherence: Chad (2003-2009) and Libya (2011-2013). The analysis will rely on academic literature, policy analyses by leading think tanks, press reports, official documents and interviews with practitioners and experts. The aim of this dissertation is to provide an original framework for the study of the often-used but under-theorised term of coherence. Furthermore, this research intends to contribute to the ongoing theoretical debate between constructivist and rational choice scholars.
