Research Assistant

Dorothea Günther joined YPC as a voluntary intern in 2020 and has not left since. She studied Political Science as well as Arabic and Islamic Studies at Leipzig University followed by a Master’s in Comparative and Middle East Politics and Society in Tübingen. As a student assistant, she supports YPC’s work by drafting and reviewing proposals and reports as well as conducting literature research.

Dorothea’s interest in the current conflict in Yemen was sparked when she read Mareike Transfeld’s work on the subject and noticed that the situation is largely misrepresented in the public sphere. In her second Bachelor’s thesis, she looked at how the German media has portrayed the war in Yemen since 2015. Using a mixed-method approach, she uncovered thematic patterns of reporting and examined where they come from; for example, due to limited resources, journalists mainly reproduce the views of powerful actors and established institutions. These findings underscore the relevance of YPC’s work. In particular, the Kaleidoscope project, which can help journalists who have time and financial constraints to gain a new perspective on the situation.

Besides her studies, Dorothea has worked on several academic research projects and completed internships in varying fields. From the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin to the Orient Institute in Beirut, she has taken every opportunity to broaden her skills. If you don’t find her studying or working, she is probably trying to improve her Arabic.