Political advisor to the inspector

Since October 2022, Dr habil. Patricia Schneider has been Political Advisor (POLAD) to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jan Christian Kaack. She joined the Bundeswehr as a civilian civil servant (Oberregierungsrätin). She advises, supports and networks for the concerns of the Navy. She acts as a mediator to promote understanding of maritime security issues among other stakeholders. Its tasks include the development of internal and external lines of communication. To this end, it will convene a working group in 2023, which will draw up an "umbrella document for the Navy" to present the Navy's self-image and challenges to the outside world. It analyses security policy developments, conferences and research findings for the inspector. It is the point of contact for institutions, civil society and individuals relevant to naval leadership.

Admiral Deerz, Chief of Staff and Patricia Schneider, Political Advisor to the Inspector, photo: hsc

She is a non-resident fellow at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), where she worked as academic coordinator and lecturer of the Master's programme "Peace and Security Studies" and as director of the European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA) in Venice, Italy for the University of Hamburg. She was editor-in-chief of the journal "S+F. Sicherheit und Frieden - Security and Peace". In addition, Patricia Schneider was co-head of the BMBF project "PiraT - Piracy and Maritime Terrorism as a Challenge for Security in Maritime Trade". She is a member of the "Indian Ocean Expert Group" and the network of the "Interdisciplinary Research Focus Maritime Security" (iFMS) of the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Federal Foreign Office.

She studied political science and economics at the universities of Bamberg, Galway/Ireland and Hamburg, graduating in 1998. She completed her doctorate at the University of Hamburg in 2003. She completed her habilitation in June 2022 with a dissertation/book on "The Development of Maritime Security and its Governance" and the colloquium topic "The Use of the International Criminal Court for 'Lawfare'".