Janika Spannagel

Janika Spannagel

Researcher in Political Science

Freie Universität Berlin

About me

I am passionate about exploring and comparing human rights protection and state coercion in democratic as well as authoritarian contexts. For my work and studies, I have received various scholarships and awards, and spent considerable time abroad in countries on five continents. I was previously a visiting scholar at Stanford University, USA, and a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute, Germany, where I co-developed the Academic Freedom Index. I hold a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Freiburg.

Research Interests

Comparative politics Human rights and political repression Academic freedom Criminal justice and criminal procedure Democratization and autocratization
Featured Publications

Death Penalty in the United States: “Conditions That Are Completely Devoid of Humanity”

This article is an interview I conducted with Thea Posel, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the Capital Punishment Clinic at Texas Law and the …

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Janika Spannagel

Quality Assessment of the Academic Freedom Index: Strengths, Weaknesses, and How Best to Use It

A comprehensive review of the data quality of the first systematic global measurement of academic freedom, the Academic Freedom Index (AFI).

Lars lott

International Attention and the Protection of Human Rights Defenders: Campaigning for Agents of Change

This book uses a practice-driven and empirically founded approach to address the question of whether and how international attention can protect and enable domestic human rights …

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Janika Spannagel
Featured Media Appearances

Book review: "Wissenschaftsfreiheit und Moral" (Tim Henning)

Bedroht übertriebener Moralismus die Wissenschaftsfreiheit – oder gibt es legitime moralische Kritik an wissenschaftlichen Thesen? Tim Henning widmet sich diesem brisanten Thema …

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Janika Spannagel

Radio: Wie die US-Regierung unter Trump die Wissenschaftsfreiheit einschränkt

Die Wissenschaft in den USA steht unter massivem Druck durch die Trump-Administration. Drastische Kürzungen von Forschungsgeldern, Zensur und Entlassungen bedrohen die …

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Janika Spannagel

Op-ed: Rethinking Campaigns on Human Rights Defenders

Focusing only on defenders’ physical integrity risks undermining the very idea of supporting agents of human rights change.

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Janika Spannagel