Julia Friedrich

Julia Friedrich is a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), where she contributes to the institute’s work on peace and security. Her research has focused on security dynamics in Russia and Ukraine. She also works on foreign influencing in the context of EU enlargement as well as German and European stabilization policy.

Julia returned to GPPi after a secondment, as a civilian expert, to the EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine between 2022 and 2023. Her work on Ukraine has covered Russia’s occupation practices since 2022 and, prior to the full-scale invasion, the impact of the Donbas war on social cohesion in eastern Ukraine and the reintegration of veterans into Ukrainian society. Until February 2022, she was a visiting fellow at the Razumkov Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her work on stabilization has focused on democracy promotion, feminist foreign policy and EU funding. Previously, Julia was also an editor of the PeaceLab blog and worked on a project evaluating the prevention of violent extremism.

Julia has been a guest commentator on Deutsche Welle, ZDF and ZDF heute live, the Telegraph’s ​“Ukraine: The Latest”, BFMTV, as well as Deutschlandradio and WDR, among others. Her commentary on Russia and Ukraine has appeared in taz, n‑tv, The National Interest, and Political Violence at a Glance, as well as CSS Analysen and Ukraine-Analysen.

Before joining GPPi, Julia contributed to UN-EU cooperation in peace operations at the United Nations Liaison Office for Peace and Security in Brussels as a Carlo-Schmid-Fellow. Her other work experiences include internships at the German Foreign Office in Kazakhstan and the Russia and Eurasia Program of Chatham House. During her studies, she volunteered for the Russian NGO Memorial in Saint Petersburg and Moscow as well as local NGOs in support of refugees in Paris and in London.

Julia holds a dual master’s degree in international security and international relations from Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Sciences Po Paris’ Nancy Campus and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). Her studies were supported by the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).