Strategic Analyst

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Irina Patrahau is a Strategic Analyst at HCSS, part of the HCSS Energy and Raw Materials Initiative and Climate and Security Programme. Her areas of expertise are the geopolitics and geo-economics of energy and raw materials, as well as climate security. Irina’s work is focused on the energy transition and its implications for inter- and intra- state relations, with a particular focus on (critical) raw minerals. In addition to her work on the implications of climate change mitigation, Irina is also part of broader HCSS work on the climate-security nexus. She is part of the Water, Peace and Security Partnership, a consortium that seeks to address water-related security challenges through innovative tools and services.

Irina holds a BSc degree (cum laude) in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations from Leiden University and a minor in Geo-Resources for the Future at the TU Delft. She attained her MSc degree (cum laude) in Political Economy from University of Amsterdam, where she studied the energy relations between China and Eastern Europe in the context of the energy transition. Prior to joining HCSS, she was an intern at Karama Europe, an NGO supporting women’s rights activist groups in the Middle East and North Africa.