Sandra Destradi

Prof. Dr. Sandra Destradi is a leading scholar in international relations, currently serving as a Professor of Political Science with a focus on International Relations at the University of Freiburg since 2020. She also holds a DAAD long-term guest professorship at Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel (2023-2025), and leads Research Programme 4 ('Power and Ideas') at the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies. Her academic journey includes a tenured Senior Research Fellow position at GIGA (2014-2020) and prior professorships at Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (2016-2020).

Education

• Doctorate (Dr. phil.) from the University of Hamburg (2010), summa cum laude, focusing on India's regional relations.
• B.A./M.A. in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Trieste/Gorizia, Italy (2005).
• Erasmus semester at the University of Vienna (2003-2004).

Research Interests center on Global Governance, Populism's impact on foreign policy, and Emerging Powers in international politics. Her work analyzes how populism reshapes global institutions and regional powers' strategic behavior, with a focus on South Asia and the Global South.

Publications include peer-reviewed studies on UN voting patterns under populism, the conceptualization of reluctance in international politics, and empirical analyses of India's foreign policy. She has authored a monograph on Reluctance in World Politics (2023) and co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Populism and Foreign Policy (2025).

Scientific Awards

• Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute (2014-2015)
• Cusanuswerk Doctoral Scholarship (2006-2009)

Grant Involvement includes research funding for studies on emerging powers and regional governance. She has conducted fieldwork in India (2008, 2009) and held visiting roles at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi (2013).