Experts

Professor Chris Alden

Professor Alden is a Professor of International Relations at LSE and Director of LSE IDEAS. He is a leading expert on China-Africa relations, foreign policy, international development, development finance, post-conflict reconstruction, international and regional organisations, emerging powers. As the Senior Advisor to the Digital IR project, he provides a wealth of knowledge and experience to contextualise ongoing developments in international relations theory and practice and steer the research into underexplored areas.

Professor Alden is also a Research Associate with South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). He has held affiliations with institutes across the globe, including fellowships at Cambridge University, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo; Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto; Ecole Normale Superieure (Cachan), Paris; CERI, Paris; and University of Pretoria. 

Mr Kenddrick Chan

Mr Chan is Head of the Digital IR in the Information Age project at LSE IDEAS. His research areas include the intersection of technology and international relations. He is also a Senior Policy Analyst (Technology and Public Policy) at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and Fellow at the Portulans Institute. His expertise centres on technology and international relations, telecommunications (e.g., 5G networks), digital infrastructure (e.g., data centres), technology for development, technology policy, digital diplomacy, social media and politics.

He holds an MSc in International Relations (with Distinction) from the LSE. He also holds an BSc in International Relations and a Diploma in Information Technology.

Ms Julia Ryng

Ms Ryng is Project Researcher at the LSE IDEAS Digital IR in the Information Age Project. Her research concentrates on human rights in the information age, with specific focus on the Internet as a tool of oppression and emancipation. She is working on a series of projects investigating state-sanctioned internet shutdowns as forms of human rights abuses and the role of non-state actors in challenging such violations. Her recent paper on Internet Shutdowns in Myanmar and Belarus was published in the RUSI Journal in January 2022. 

Ms Ryng also has regional expertise in Central and Eastern Europe. She is the co-founder of the LSE IDEAS Russia-Ukraine Dialogues and a PhD candidate at University College London, where she researches Polish activist movements and the use of technology for fostering cultural understanding for minorities. 

Ms Guillemette Guicherd

Ms Guicherd is a Programme and Research Associate at LSE IDEAS, working with the Digital IR Project. She is also a teaching assistant at Sciences Po Paris for the Human Rights, Economic Development and Globalisation Law Clinic where she works on issues related to Business and Human Rights. 

Ms Guicherd has regional expertise on Western Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, East Africa and Myanmar. Her research interrogates the nexus between international relations and human rights in the digital age and specifically considers the role of private actors and businesses in this field. She currently co-leads a research group investigating the challenges faced by telecommunication companies when operating in authoritarian contexts. Her recent paper on Internet Shutdowns in Myanmar and Belarus was published in the RUSI Journal in January 2022. 

Ms Guicherd has further experience in the area of foreign policy analysis and has recently written a Strategic Update for LSE IDEAS arguing that the energy crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine requires a military solution that compels NATO to “spend like Estonia”.

Dr Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Dr Zulfikar Rakhmat is a Project Associate of the Digital International Relations project at LSE IDEAS. He is a research professor at Korea Institute for ASEAN Studies and an assistant professor at Universitas Islam Indonesia. In addition, he is also an associate at Jakarta-based Institute for Development of Economics and Finance.

His research focuses on the political economy of China-Indonesia-Middle East relations. Zulfikar received his B.A. in International Affairs from Qatar University and completed M.A. and Ph.D in International Politics from the University of Manchester.