Katharina Obermeier

Research Officer, GEGP, Oxford

Katharina Obermeier is a Research Officer at the Global Economic Governance Programme in Oxford. She holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and a BA in International Relations from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Her research interests include the politics of international finance, the role of institutions in global governance, and regional integration. She has previously worked for Gateway House and Terre des hommes Moldova.

Recent projects

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks at a press conference at the EU Headquarters on February 8, 2013 in Brussels, on the last day of a two-day European Union leaders summit. After 24 hours of talks lasting through the night, European Union leaders finally clinched a deal on the bloc's next 2014-2020 budget, summit chair  and EU president Herman Van Rompuy said Friday.  AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS Courtesy: ukrep.be
21 June 2016 Gateway House

Deciding the UK’s future in Europe

As the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU draws near, predicting the outcome remains difficult. While the potential impact of Brexit on the UK has been discussed at length, a vote to stay in the EU could have implications for the UK’s domestic political situation as well as its future relationship with the EU.
fc89f72798eb98bae46ed25c7c44d9ac Courtesy: GeenPeil
21 April 2016 Gateway House

Resolving referendum roadblocks

The recent referendum in the Netherlands on the European Union’s Association Agreement with Ukraine raises important questions about the EU’s ability to reconcile ostensibly popular national opinion with the principles of a multi-nation political union.
Syrian_refugees_strike_at_the_platform_of_Budapest_Keleti_railway_station._Refugee_crisis._Budapest,_Hungary,_Central_Europe,_4_September_2015._(3) Courtesy: Wikipedia
1 October 2015 Gateway House

Resurrecting European borders

While the closing of borders to refugees in Europe and West Asia could be interpreted as proof that national borders are more important now than ever, the sheer numbers of refugees make strengthening borders a severely inadequate solution.
NATO Courtesy:
11 September 2014 Gateway House

NATO’s illusory power

Contrary to some current commentary, NATO has remained relevant after the post-Cold War period, largely due to the perceptions it still engenders. While its symbolic power still endures, a rapidly changing international order could make it obsolete in the near future, as new narratives take its place.
050615-N-0000X- 001 Courtesy: Quartermaster/Wikimedia Commons
20 August 2014 Gateway House

Australia in the dock

Like European countries, Australia too has seen an influx of asylum seekers over the last decade. However, domestic political compulsions have seen the new Australian government send back the refugees to their turmoil ridden countries. Considering international law and its responsibilities Canberra needs to revisit its refugee policy
Refugees in Sicily Courtesy: Vito Manzari/Wikimedia Commons
13 August 2014 Gateway House

Change EU’s refugee policy

A refugee policy that absolves more capable and resource rich nations of any responsibility towards transnational asylum seekers is archaic and has lived beyond its time. Keeping in mind the EU's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights, it is incumbent upon it to set new standards and reform its refugee policy
evening campfire_ukraine 4_210X140 Courtesy: Flickr
22 July 2014 Gateway House

The dangers of tightrope walking

Eastern Europe has seen tensions rise, increasing violence and a hardening of stands. Only the softening of the stark “either/or” choice currently being demanded by western powers as well as Russia will put an end to the precarious tightrope walking of east European governments and prevent their citizens from becoming victims of increased regional instability