Antonia Thies

Antonia Thies serves as a Research Associate and Doctoral Researcher in the DFG Research Training Group 'The Sentimental in Literature, Culture and Politics' at Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), affiliated with the School of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology and the Department of Political Science. Fluent in English and Arabic, she holds a Master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies with Political Science focus from FAU, preceded by Economics and Arabic Studies at Bremen University of Applied Sciences and Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco.

Her research examines sentimentality as a strategic tool in Gulf monarchies (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait), analyzing how emotional repertoires and memory practices in heritage projects activate collective identities during post-oil transitions. This work bridges political science with cultural studies to investigate non-material aspects of authoritarian regime durability, focusing on bottom-up population perceptions rather than top-down state narratives.

Thies' publication trajectory shows increasing specialization in Gulf politics, with recent articles in Third World Quarterly (2023) and forthcoming 2025 publications in International Relations and SWP Comment addressing Sino-Gulf relations, Saudi Vision 2030, and business diplomacy. Her research combines fieldwork in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with institutional collaborations including the Gulf Studies Center in Doha and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

She actively contributes to academic discourse through conference presentations at venues including the University of Göttingen (2024), Gulf Research Center (2023), and German Orientalists' Day (2022), focusing on themes of political passivity, grassroots transition, and authoritarian sentimentality. Her methodological expertise includes computer-aided qualitative analysis, demonstrated through workshops at University of Freiburg and Erlangen Center for Islam and Law in Europe.