Areas of Expertise

Non-state armed groups
Unmanned aerial systems (UAS)
Cyber activities of non-state armed groups
Conflict research

Short Bio

Claudia Hofmann, an expert in international security and conflict research, has been an associate fellow in DGAP’s Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology since July 2024.

Hofmann focuses on the role of non-state armed groups in international conflicts, the study of their cyber activities, and the evolving use of semi-autonomous systems by non-state armed groups.

She has published numerous monographs, policy papers, and articles in academic journals. Her work examines methods and strategies for dealing with armed actors, the influence of private actors on conflict negotiations, and the role of NGOs in peace processes. Her research – in particular, her studies on behavioral change through norm diffusion and her analyses of drug markets and security policy – has contributed significantly to the academic and political discussion in these areas.

Hofmann is currently executive director of online and executive programs at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC. Her professional career includes positions as associate fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House; visiting scholar at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University; and Jennings Randolph Tapir Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. She was also a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and the German Institute for Development and Sustainability.

Hofmann received her PhD in political science from the University of Cologne in 2006. She holds an MA in international conflict analysis from the University of Kent’s Belgium-based Brussels School of International Studies and a BA (honors) in politics & government and history from the University of Kent in the UK.