Xueru Zhang (ext.)

Doctoral Candidate

Research Interests

  • Secessionist Conflicts
  • Human Rights and Conflict Resolution
  • International Interventions
  • Regional Focus: Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe

Dissertation project: The European Union’s Responses to Secessionist Conflicts in Europe

Curriculum Vitae

  • 8/2024–Present: Doctoral Candidate at the Chair of International Relations, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany)
  • 1/2022–Present: Spanish Teacher at Hujiang Education Technology Company
  • 5/2022–7/2024: Secretary and Coordinator in the Economic, Cultural, and Science Sections at the Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Peru to China
  • 6/2024: Coordinator and Interpreter for the Delegation for the Official Visit of the President of the Republic of Peru to China, at the Embassy of Peru in China
  • 8/2019–8/2021:Master of Arts in Latin American Studies at the Center for Latin American Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University (United States); recipient of the Georgetown University SFS Merit Scholarship
  • 6/2020–8/2021: Research Assistant at the Center for Latin American Studies, Georgetown University
    Contributor to the Project LACCOM: A Map of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (https://laccom.georgetown.domains)
  • 9/2015–7/2019: Bachelor of Arts in Spanish with a Minor in International Economics and Trade at the University of International Business and Economics (China); recipient of the UIBE Integrated Scholarship
  • 4/2019–5/2019: Interpreter and Foreign Service Intern, The China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) (Canton, China)
  • 6/2018–8/2018: Audit Assistant Intern, Xinghua Certified Public Accountants L.L.P. (Beijing, China)
  • 2018: Exchange Student at the Faculty of Economics, University of Valencia (Spain), sponsored by the Chinese Government (Chinese Scholarship Council)
  • 7/2017: International Primary School Teacher, Children Education Development Program (Wattala, Sri Lanka)

Conferences/Workshops

  • 3/2026: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations - Volkenroda, Germany - Paper Presenter
  • 9/2025: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations of FSU Jena – Jena, Germany – Paper Presenter
  • 8/2025: 18th EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations (PEC), EISA PEC Conferences – Bologna, Italy – Paper Presenter & Panel Discussant, funded by the IMPULSE conference program of FSU Jena
  • 4/2025: Fifth Emerging Scholars Workshop on De Facto State, De Facto States Research Unit of the University of Tartu – Tartu, Estonia (online) – Paper Presenter
  • 4/2025: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations of FSU Jena – Volkenroda, Germany – Paper Presenter
  • 9/2024: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations of FSU Jena, Dornburg, Germany - Paper Presenter
  • 3/2024: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations - Paper Presenter (participate online)
  • 9/2023: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations – Observer (participate online)
  • 3/2023: Early Career Workshop of the Chair of International Relations - Paper Presenter (participate online)

Publications

Teaching Experience

  • January 2026: Guest Lecture, “From Petrostate Collapse to a Battleground of Global Politics: Understanding Venezuela’s Prolonged Crisis through the Lens of Power Politics and International  Norms,” at the Hochschulgruppe für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik Jena
  • January 2026: Guest Talk on Practical Experience in Conducting Academic Research and the Current International Situation at the Pridnestrovian Council of Young Diplomats, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tiraspol
  • August 2025: Teaching and Facilitation Assistant at the IOCM Summer School 2025, University of Jena

Further Qualifications

  • Languages: Chinese (native), Spanish, English