PhD dissertation project (working title)

Securitization in North Korea: Understanding the construction, conception, and political power of security in an authoritarian state

► Short CV
 

Benedikt studied Korean Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, where he obtained his B.A. and M.A. During his studies, he also spent two semesters studying in Seoul at Yonsei University and worked as an intern at the Korea Democracy Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Korean government. He also worked for several years at the East Asia Department of the Campus Library at Freie Universität. In his dissertation project, he investigates the role of security in modern North Korean foreign and domestic politics.

► Research Interests
 

• Foreign and Security Policy on the Korean Peninsula & East Asia
• Inter-Korean Relations
• Critical Security Studies

► Publications (peer-reviewed)
 

Staar, Benedikt Christoph (2021): How to Treat Your Sworn Enemy. North Korea’s Securitisation of the United States. In: International Quarterly for Asian Studies 52(1-2), pp. 79–98. (https://doi.org/10.11588/iqas.2021.1-2.14561)

► Publications (other)
 

Staar, Benedikt Christoph (2022): Was tun gegen nordkoreanische Cyberangriffe? In: Tagesspiegel Background. https://background.tagesspiegel.de/cybersecurity/was-tun-gegen-nordkoreanische-cyberangriffe

Staar, Benedikt Christoph (2022): A new arms race on the Korean peninsula? In: IPS Journal, https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/foreign-and-security-policy/a-new-arms-race-on-the-korean-peninsula-5966/

(also in German: Verhärtete Fronten zwischen Nord- und Südkorea. Präsident Yoons Reise in die Vergangenheit. In: IPG-Journal, https://www.ipg-journal.de/regionen/asien/artikel/reise-in-die-vergangenheit-5962/)

Staar, Benedikt Christoph (2021): Denuclearisation means regime change in North Korea. In: 9DASHLINE, https://www.9dashline.com/article/denuclearisation-means-regime-change-in-north-korea

► Presentations
 

Die Versicherheitlichung der nordkoreanischen Regierung: Politische Stabilität dank äußerer und innerer Bedrohungen. – Ostasienwissenschaftliches Mittagsforum, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 6 July 2022.

Survival Through Threats: Analysing North Korea’s use of Securitisation for Stabilising and Legitimising the State. – Korean Studies Research Hub Graduate Workshop, University of Melbourne, 3 June 2022.

Why Presenting a Foe as a Friend Can Make Sense: Explaining the Shifts in North Korea’s Construction of a South Korean Threat in State Media in the 21st Century. – 2022 IKSU Annual International Conference, University of Central Lancashire, 7–8 January 2022.