Natalia Hildebrand

DPhil Research Topic

My doctoral research examines the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) transnational networking activities during the 1969-1991 period of the Global Cold War. I focus on the PLO’s ideological, diplomatic, and paramilitary bonds with other non-state revolutionary movements, particularly the African National Congress (ANC) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). I investigate why and how these movements collaborated—often under clandestine circumstances—and explore the role of state sponsors such as Muammar Qaddafi's Libyan Jamahiriya, Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and the Soviet Union in cultivating these revolutionary alliances. I draw on interviews with ANC, PLO, and IRA members, written correspondence between these organisations, indigenous manifestos and media materials, archives, United Nations data, and other sources.

This project builds on my previous academic research during my MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at St Antony's College, Oxford, and BA in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

Supervisor: Eugene Rogan