Daria Impiombato researches elite politics and party-state structures, domestic security, societal resilience and human rights in China, as well as the PRC’s communication strategies and global information and influence operations. Her work explores how the party state exercises, safeguards and projects political power across institutions and society, as well as in China’s engagement with counterparts abroad.

Before joining MERICS, Impiombato worked as an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) Cyber, Technology and Security team. Her research areas included human rights and technology, state policy in minority areas and foreign information operations and interference. She holds a BA in Chinese Studies from Ca' Foscari University, Venice, an MA in Journalism and International Relations from Monash University, Melbourne, and spent time studying in China at University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and at Tsinghua University in Beijing.