Life After DPIR - Dr Markus Schultze-Kraft
Alumni 2001,
Summary
A member of St Antony's College, I earned my M.Phil. in Latin American Studies in 1997 and my D.Phil. in Politics in 2001. No doubt, Oxford and St Antony's provided me a stimulating environment to develop my interests in conflict, democratization and security studies, the (current) political history of Latin America and comparative politics.
In hindsight, I probably learned as much from my professors and academic supervisors as I did from my peers and college friends, as well as the many guest speakers that I had the opportunity to see perform over the years. Oxfords impressive library system was a constant source of delight and excitement!
I think my work on the pacification of Central America and the restructuring of civil-military relations in the wake of the anti-regime wars in the isthmus, which was superbly supervised by Professor Malcolm Deas of St Antonys College, prepared me well for my first post-doctoral assignment as Senior Political Analyst with the International Crisis Group in Colombia. The network of Latin American contacts I had continued to build and broaden while at Oxford proved to be of great help in my new position and throughout the nine years I worked in the region. And my return to the UK - I am now based at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex - is probably also related, in whatever mysterious way, to fond memories I have of Oxford, the old Alma mater.
