Genevieve Kotarska

Genevieve is a Research Fellow in the Organised Crime and Policing team at RUSI. Her research focuses on the community-level impacts of organised crime and terrorism and illicit trades such as drug, firearms and people trafficking.

Before joining RUSI, Genevieve completed an MSc (Distinction) in Political Psychology of International Relations at the University of Birmingham where her dissertation focused on the interrelations between organised crime and conflict in Colombia after the 2016 peace agreement. She also holds a BA (Hons) in International Relations and Ethics from the University of Exeter.

Genevieve previously worked as a Research Assistant on a University of Birmingham project investigating the role of cultural reforms in intrastate peace agreements. Before this she held various communications and policy roles in the UK Civil Service, including in the Ministry of Defence and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, working on diverse issues such as marine plastic pollution, countering disinformation and the UK’s Covid-19 response.

'My Enemy’s Enemy is my Friend: Polarisation, Stigmatisation, and Political Violence in Colombia', Genevieve Kotarska, SHOC, 26 May 2022

'Cultural Reforms for Peace: The Crucial Role of Accommodating Diversity', By Dr Giuditta Fontana (University of Birmingham), Dr Ilaria Masiero (University of Geneva), Genevieve Kotarska (Royal United Services Institute) - Birmingham Business School Blog, 20 May 2022

'A New Era in the War on Drugs? Between the Lines of the US-Colombia Bicentennial Partnership', Genevieve Kotarska, SHOC, 18 March 2022