Henrique Ribeiro da Rocha's Visiting Fellowship
28 Apr 2023

Henrique Ribeiro da Rocha's Visiting Fellowship

Visiting Fellowship Program

In April, Henrique Ribeiro da Rocha joined us for a Visiting Fellowship at The Hague Program on International Cyber Security at Leiden University's The Hague Campus. We sat down with him to hear about his fellowship experience.

Why were you interested in coming here?

In Brazil, the cyber security and cyber defense community is still taking form, so when I enrolled in my Ph.D. course last year I immediately began seeking international opportunities to enhance my knowledge on cyber security issues, broaden my views, and also to try and bring some Global South perspectives into the discussions.

Around last October, I was browsing through the work and curriculum of scholars whom I admire – such as Louise Hurel and Julia Voo – and learned about The Hague Program on International Cyber Security. Then when I looked up the Program, I also realized that other people whose work has been a fundamental part of my academic journey were a part of it, such as Dennis Broeders and Monica Kaminska – no need to say that I got really excited about the idea of going there.

What did you work on during the fellowship?

During my fellowship, I had the opportunity to develop a project that had been on my plans for some time, which was the elaboration of a policy brief on the role of Brazil in the international debate on internet governance. In this work, I discussed Brazil's performance in this agenda during the last three presidential administrations (Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer, and Jair Messias Bolsonaro), in order to analyze the advances and/or setbacks of each administration on this matter. Additionally, I had the opportunity to discuss other research projects – as well as my proposed doctoral thesis – with the program's scholars, which undoubtedly will help to improve my research. For this reason, I highly recommend that other young scholars apply for this fellowship.

What's next for you?

Now that I am back in Brazil, I will focus on the development of my doctoral thesis, in which I seek to understand the capabilities and modes of operation of different types of states in cyberspace. Additionally, I will continue to work as a researcher at the Governance, Management, and Public Policy Lab on National Defense (LabGGPP) and at the Cyber Power Lab (LPCiber), in which I conduct research on the security governance of cyberspace, the development of public policies for cybersecurity and cyber defense, and cyber power.

Are you also interested to join our Visiting Fellowship Program? Applications for a Fall 2023 stay are welcomed until 31 May 2023. Check out the Fellowships section for more information and the application process.

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