linaskoglund@fas.harvard.edu

Lina Skoglund studies how information and communication technologies shape authoritarian rule, with a focus on nineteenth-century France. She is also interested in contemporary and historical mobilizations against environmental policies in rural France. Her work brings together political economy, comparative politics, and economic history, drawing on natural experiments and original archival research.

Her dissertation examined the role of the Chappe telegraph during Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's coup in December 1851. It showed how controlling communications from Paris was key to the success of the coup, helping the aspiring autocrat prevent coordination among pro-democracy activists and secure the realignment of state agents.

Lina's current project, "Like Flies in a Spider's Web," examines the role of information in the consolidation of authoritarian rule. Focusing on the establishment of the First Empire (1804-1814), it draws on a comprehensive archive of daily police reports Joseph Fouché sent to Napoléon. The project investigates how police infiltration and the construction of informant networks were used to co-opt challengers and integrate them into the new regime. It also asks how the expansion of surveillance affected the quality and reliability of the information collected by the state.

Lina received her PhD in Politics from Princeton in May 2026. At Princeton, she was affiliated with the Research Program in Political Economy and the Initiative on Contemporary European Affairs. She also holds a BA and MA in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris, both summa cum laude. She was a Princeton Prize Fellow in the Social Sciences and a Graduate Fellow in the Digital Humanities.