Janina Heaphy

Dr. Janina Heaphy is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Human Rights Erlangen Nürnberg (CHREN), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, since October 2023. Previously, she worked as a research associate at the Institute of Political Science, teaching and researching human rights, foreign policy, and security studies. Her doctoral research examined human rights safeguards as strategic tools in foreign policymaking, with a focus on American, British, and German anti-torture policies during the War on Terror.

Her research interests span:

• Human Rights
• Foreign Policy
• Counterterrorism
• International Organizations
• Accountability

Dr. Heaphy's recent publications analyze the strategic development of anti-torture policies in Western democracies, particularly in the UK, Germany, and the US. Her work, published in journals such as the European Journal of International Relations and Policy & Politics, employs theoretical frameworks like the Multiple Streams Framework to explore how identity and cost-benefit considerations shape counterterrorism policies and human rights compliance.

She is affiliated with the Center for Human Rights Erlangen Nürnberg (CHREN) and previously contributed to the DFG-funded project Western Democracies and Extraterritorial Human Rights Violations.