Cora is a PhD candidate in the Department of International Relations at LSE. In her dissertation project, she researches the formation of the secular in international peace mediation and the resulting prominent conceptions of religion in conflict transformation. Applying a critical perspective, her research questions prevalent secular assumptions within the international community of mediation.

Prior to joining LSE, Cora worked as an international consultant for GIZ in Mauritania, as an Associate Political Affairs Officer in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs’ Office of the Under-Secretary-General and the Central Africa Team, as a Program Officer in the Mediation Support Team at CSS-ETH Zurich, and as an Academic Attachée at the Embassy of Switzerland in Belgium.

Cora holds a Joint Degree MA in Religion-Economics-Politics from the Universities of Basel, Lucerne, and Zurich and a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Zurich. She is a Fulbright Candidate for the 2025/2026 academic year.

Research topic

Western Perceptions in Intractable Conflicts: The Impact of Secularism on International Peace Efforts

Academic supervisors

Mark Hoffman

Professor James Walters

Research Cluster affliation

Security and Statecraft Research Cluster

Theory/Area/History Research Cluster