Virginia Nizza

International Relations (2019 cohort)

I am an MPhil candidate in International Relations at Balliol College, University of Oxford, under the supervision of Prof Janina Dill. My research interests lie at the intersection of international security, cyber security, intelligence studies and international relations theory, specifically constructivism. My current research compares China's investment in two of the UK's critical infrastructure sectors, nuclear power and telecommunications, in order to shed light on how Western developed states make decisions about letting foreign companies partake in their national critical infrastructures. 

Prior to joining Oxford’s DPIR, I obtained a BA in International Relations with First Class Honours from the War Studies Department at King’s College London, where I was awarded the Sir Michael Howard Excellence Award. I have interned at the Embassy of Italy in London, in the Office of the Counsellor for Political Affairs, and worked as a research collaborator with a Florence-based academic think tank, the Centre for Cyber Security and International Relations Studies (CCSIRS).