Dr Leonie Fleischmann

Overview

Dr Fleischmann joined the Department as a lecturer in September 2016, having completed her PhD in the Department in December 2015.

She was a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Non-Violent Conflict in 2017-2018.

Dr Fleischmann's research explores social movements, civil resistance campaigns and human rights activism. She is the author of The Israeli Peace Movement: Anti-Occupation Activism and Human Rights since the Al Aqsa Intifada, published by I.B.Tauris in 2019. The book explores how Israeli activists have responded to changing realities on the ground. It argues that despite stagnation in the political peace process, civil society groups that act in solidarity with the Palestinians and human rights organisations whose aim is to reveal the realities of the occupation continue to mobilize and challenge the situation.

Her current research interrogates the role of 'internal allies': members of the ruling population who act in solidarity with members of an oppressed population. This study seeks to identify tangible ways in which these actors can assist resistance movements , as well as understanding where they may hinder a movement. It involves interviews with activists, archival research and analysis of activist materials in the cases of Israel/Palestine, South African and Canada. Parts of this project have been funded by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and City University Pump-Priming.

Additional research includes a critique of legal avenues for human rights protection in prolonged military occupations and an analysis of Extinction Rebellion.

Prior to joining City, Dr Fleischmann taught in the fields of International Politics and International Development at SOAS, King's College London and the University of Roehampton.

She has experience in written and television media commentary

Qualifications

1. PhD, City University London, London, United Kingdom
2. MA International Relations, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

Postgraduate training

1. Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, City, University of London, London, United Kingdom

Research Interests

- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- The role of civil society in conflict and peace building
- Nonviolent resistance
- Social Movement Theory
- Human Rights activism

Current Projects

- Transformation of Israeli Peace/Anti-occupation Activism
- Civil resistance and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- The role of Human Rights in conflict and peace building