I have a B.A. in International Relations from the Technische Universität Dresden, an MPhil from Cambridge, and a DPhil from Oxford (Merton College). While a student, I was an ERASMUS student at l'Université de Lausanne, a Fulbright student at Seton Hall University, and a visiting research collaborator at Princeton. 

Prior to my current role at the Blavatnik School of Government, I was an Assistant Professor of Normative Theory at the London School of Economics, from 2015-2017. From 2017-2023, I was the John G. Winant (Associate until 2022) Professor of U.S. Foreign Policy at the Department of Politics and IR (DPIR) at the University of Oxford and Nuffield College. In 2024, I was a visiting Fellow at "Kolleg Forschungsgruppe: International Law, Rise or Decline?" in Berlin. 

I have been Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed (ELAC) conflict together with Dapo Akande since 2018. I am also a Senior Fellow at the Rothermere American Institute.

I live in Oxford with Steven H. Simon and our daughter. I am a die-hard Bach fan, enjoy classical music and singing, and travelling to visit my dispersed extended family.