Birke Friedländer

Background

I graduated with a degree in anthropology from the University of Copenhagen in 2022. In my thesis I explored the work of emotions in the courtroom in the Copenhagen District Court. I have since worked as a research assistant at the University of Copenhagen doing systematic literature reviews and partaking in developing a new experimental teaching and research format on climate change adaptation.

Research areas

• Political violence
• State and Law
• Ethnography and emotions
• Brazilian politics

Ongoing research 

In my PhD, I reflect on the implications of state responses to right-wing violence. I focus specifically on the legal response to the January 8 insurrection in Brazil, where supporters of Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brasília. The state is a central analytical category in my project, as is the role of emotions and rationality in the courtroom. I want to follow the court cases and their representations as they move from the courtroom and into public life. Thereby, I hope to reflect upon some of the complications arising, when courts and their professionals are asked to solve fundamentally political crises and conflicts in our present moment.