School of Social and Political Science

Background

Supervisors

Prof Juliet Kaarbo
Dr Benjamin Martill

Education

Sep. 2020 - present: PhD in Politics
The University of Edinburgh
Tentative thesis title: “Individuals in Securitization: An Investigation into Leaders’ Attitudes toward Iraq and North Korea”

Feb. 2017 - Aug. 2019: MIS in International Cooperation
Seoul National University
Thesis title: “The Idea of an Iraqi Threat: An Explanation for George W. Bush’s Securitizing Move”

Oct. 2011 - Dec. 2016: BA in Korean Studies and Scandinavian Studies
University of Tübingen
Thesis title: “Clinton, Bush, and the Sunshine Policy: The Change of the United States’ North Korea Policy and its Implications for Inter-Korean Relations”


Publications

Schotthöfer, Alexander. 2024. "Individuals in Securitization: Explaining US Presidents' Choice to (De)Securitize North Korea." Foreign Policy Analysis 20 (3).

Schotthoefer, Alexander, and Oung Byun. 2020. "The Idea of an Iraqi Threat: A Constructivist Analysis of George W. Bush’s Securitizing Move After 9/11." Journal of International and Area Studies 27 (1): 79-99.

Presentations

To Securitize or to Desecuritize: Internal Choices in Tony Blair's and Gerhard Schröder's Speech Acts on Iraq - 65th Convention of the International Studies Association, April 2024 - San Francisco, California, USA.

Presidential Personality and US-North Korean Relations - IKSU-K-Unification Friends International Conference, December 2023 - Preston, England, UK.

Individuals in Securitization: An Investigation into US Presidents’ Choice to (De)Securitize North Korea - 47th Conference of the British International Studies Association, June 2022 - Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

Individuals in Securitization: An Investigation into US Presidents’ (De)Securitization of North Korea - CeSeR Conference, April 2023 - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

Individuals in Securitization: An Investigation into US Presidents’ (De)Securitization of North Korea - 64th Convention of the International Studies Association, March 2023 - Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Individuals in Securitization: An Investigation into Leaders’ Attitudes toward Iraq and North Korea - 46th Conference of the British International Studies Association, June 2022 - Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, UK.

Individuals in Securitization: An Investigation into Leaders’ Attitudes toward Iraq and North Korea - 63rd Convention of the International Studies Association, March/April 2022 - Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Awards and Scholarships

• 2024 Alexander George Award
• 2019 Distinguished Thesis Award

• 2019 GSIS Honors Award

• 2017 - 2018 SNU Global Scholarship

• 2015 Korean Language Course Excellence Award (Exchange at Seoul National University)


Relevant Experience

Apr. - May 2022: ISA panel organization
Securitization Theory and Foreign Policy Analysis: Toward a Better Understanding of Security-Related Foreign Policies

Sep. 2021 - present: Research group co-convenor
The University of Edinburgh, School of Social and Political Science
Foreign Policy Research Group
Foreign Policy Analysis Conference 2022

Sep. 2021 - present: Tutor
The University of Edinburgh, School of Social and Political Science
Advanced Topics in Global Security
Research Design in Politics and International Relations

Mar. 2018 - May 2019: Editor
Seoul National University, Graduate School of International Studies

Seoul National University Journal of International Affairs (SNUJIA)

Oct. 2014 - Feb. 2015: Tutor
University of Tübingen, The Department of Asian and Oriental Studies

Academic Work