David Eichert

I am a Departmental Lecturer in International Relations at the DPIR, in association with University College. I earned my PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a JD (juris doctorate) in Law from Cornell University. Prior to joining the DPIR, I taught at Sciences Po in France and was a visiting scholar with the Center for International Criminal Justice at VU Amsterdam. I use any pronouns.

I study the politics of sexual violence. I am an interdisciplinary scholar, building upon my dual background in IR and critical legal theory to interrogate how international actors use ideas about crime, gender, and justice to make sense of sexual harm. My current research agenda focuses on the following two themes:

• The day-to-day work of international lawyers and courts, including efforts to identify and prosecute conflict-related sexual violence; and

• The politics of sexual violence and new technologies, especially the legal regulation of consent, Internet-based sex work, and generative artificial intelligence. 

Teaching

At the undergraduate level, I lecture on the papers for International Relations and International Security and Conflict. For graduate students, I convene the Approaches to Qualitative Methods paper and teach on Research Design and Methods. My pedagogical approach draws heavily from trans-feminist, decolonial, and anti-hierarchical teaching methods, which means I am always happy to chat with current and potential students!