Stasi remand prisoners

Jan 4, 2026 · 1 min read
Image credit: Matthew Ansley/Unsplash.
projects

Using a new dataset of Stasi remand prisoners from the 1960s until 1989, this collaborative project aims to gain a systematic understanding of the practice of authoritarian justice in the GDR and how it compares to other autocratic states.

Janika Spannagel
Authors
Researcher in Political Science
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.