SOAS University of London

Department of Development Studies

Development Studies Staff

Head of Department
Professor Zoë Marriage

Director Learning & Teaching

Dr Adam Hanieh

REF/Research coordinator for staff

Professor Carlos Oya

BA Development Studies Programme Convenors & Admissions Tutor
Postgraduate Programme Convenors

Research Admissions Tutor
 Director Doctoral Studies
 Director Student Support & Experience
Professor Zoë Marriage
Head of Department
Professor of Security and International Development
Zoë Marriage
The political economy of security, DR Congo, demobilisation, emergency assistance to countries at war
  • Tel: 020 7898 4437
  • Email: zm2@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 259
  • Academic Support Hours: By appt: https://tinyurl.com/ZoeMarriage
Professor Gilbert Achcar
Professor of Development Studies and International Relations
Gilbert Achcar

Political economy and sociology of globalisation; global power structure and grand strategy; empire theory and US hegemony; politics and development of the Middle East and North Africa; sociology of religion; Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism; social change and social theory.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4557
  • Email: ga3@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 292b
  • Academic Support Hours: By Appointment via email
Professor Christopher Cramer
Professor of the Political Economy of Development
Chris Cramer
Africa: economics of Africa, political economy of development, political economy of war and peace in southern Africa, and the economics of cashew production, processing and trade
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4492
  • Email: cc10@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 288
  • On Sabbatical:Term 2 (2021/22)
Dr Jonathan Di John
Senior Lecturer in Political Economy
Jonathan Di John
Development economics, economic growth, institutional economics, taxation in less developed countries, the political economy of oil states, political economy of industrial policy in Latin America, especially of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. 
Professor Jonathan Goodhand
Professor in Conflict and Development Studies
Jonathan Goodhand
South and Central Asia; complex political emergencies, humanitarian aid; NGO capacity building, aid, conflict and development
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4483
  • Email: jg27@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 258
  • Academic Support Hours: Wed 1 - 2 and Thurs 3 - 4
Professor Laura Hammond
Professor of Development Studies
Laura Hammond

Africa; Horn of Africa; refugees and forced migration; post-conflict social integration; violence and conflict analysis; humanitarianism and humanitarian assistance; globalisation, transnationalism, diasporas and remittances; famine and food security; livelihoods in emergency contexts.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4654
  • Email: lh4@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 371
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment only. Please email.
Dr Colette Harris
Reader in Gender and Development
Colette Harris

Violence and conflict, governance, post colonial state building, Muslim societies, sexualities, (reproductive) health, migration, and community development/transformative education - all explored through a gendered lens. Central Asia, Latin America but currently focus mainly on West and East Africa.

Dr Tania Kaiser
Senior Lecturer in Forced Migration Studies
Tania Kaiser

East Africa, particularly Uganda and Sudan, West Africa; conflict and development; forced migration; refugees; humanitarian interventions

  • Tel: 020 7898 4484
  • Email: tk51@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 290
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment, https://goo.gl/L4KXfA
Dr Jens Lerche
Reader in Agrarian and Labour studies
Jens Lerche
India; labour, social movements and globalisation; labour and the ILO; labour and caste in India; agrarian political economy.
  • Tel: 020 7898 4505
  • Email: jl2@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 295
  • Academic Support Hours: Please book: https://nliazfvvokqciisfqg.10to8.com
Dr Anna Lindley
Senior Lecturer in Migration, Mobility and Development
Anna Lindley
Global migration dynamics, politics and experiences: displacement & refugees; transnationalism & remittances; Somali mobilities; UK immigration policy; detention; access to justice; civic mobilization.
  • Tel: 0207 898 4690
  • Email: al29@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 257
  • Academic Support Hours: Working days Mon-Thu. Book: https://bit.ly/3nAmpXf
Dr Michael Jennings
Reader in International Development
Michael Jennings

Politics, governance, and civil society in sub-Saharan Africa; non-governmental organisations; faith and development; history of development processes and interventions; issues in international health and non-state actors in health delivery.

  • Tel: +44(0) 207 898 4268
  • Email: mj10@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 261
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment only
  • On Sabbatical:Full Year (2019/20)
Dr Thomas Marois
Reader in Development Studies
Thomas Marois

Political economist; Public banks; Development banks; Climate finance; Green transitions; Privatisation; Alternative development

  • Tel: +44 (0)207 898 4503
  • Email: tm47@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 293
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment online: https://t.ly/gFYA
Dr Alessandra Mezzadri
Senior Lecturer in Development Studies
Alessandra Mezzander
International trade, global commodity chains; production networks and industrial systems; informality and processes of labour informalisation; inequality and social structures of oppression; gender, feminisms and reproduction; the political economy of the garment industry; the political economy of India  
  • Tel: 0207 898 4533
  • Email: am99@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 4421
  • Academic Support Hours: Please book: https://t.ly/I89q
Professor Peter P Mollinga
Professor of Development Studies
Peter Mollinga
South Asia, Central Asia; comparative political sociology of water resources and development; technology and agrarian change; boundary work in natural resources management; interdisciplinary social theory.
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4631
  • Email: pm35@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 4415
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment via email
Dr Andrew Newsham
Senior Lecturer in International Development
Andrew Newsham

Research: Vulnerability to climate impacts, climate change adaptation and locally held knowledge, the political economy of climate-compatible development, knowing and deciding for conservation and development.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4884
  • Email: an14@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 255
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment: http://bit.ly/2xS56rg
  • On Sabbatical:Term 3 (2019/20)
Dr Paolo Novak
Senior Lecturer in Development Studies
Staff Silhouette

Trans-nationality with particular reference to migration; refugee regime; borders and NGOs.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4214
  • Email: pn4@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 368
  • Academic Support Hours: Please book: https://tinyurl.com/45382sk6
Professor Carlos Oya
Professor of Political Economy of Development; Director of Research and REF Coordinator
Carlos Oya
West Africa, Southern Africa, agrarian political economy; poverty; rural labour; development aid; research methods
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4566
  • Email: co2@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 292a
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesday 2.30pm to 4.30pm via link t.ly/XKmk  
Dr Tim Pringle
Reader in Labour, Social Movements and Development
Tim Pringle

East Asia, labour relations in China and Vietnam, trade union reform in China and Vietnam, labour and social movements in China, labour migration in China.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4678
  • Email: tp21@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 260a
  • Academic Support Hours: Thursdays 1-3pm
Dr Jon Phillips
Jon Phillips

Research: Climate and development; political ecology; socio-natures; environmental justice; low carbon energy; extractive politics; infrastructural politics; sub-Saharan Africa

Professor Navtej K Purewal
Professor in Political Sociology and Development Studies
Navtej K Purewal

Bordering logics; feminism; gender and social policy; reproductive rights; girls' education; coloniality; neoliberal development; South Asia; India and Pakistan

  • Tel: 020 7898 4261
  • Email: np39@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 448
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesdays 12-2pm
Dr Althea-Maria Rivas
Senior Lecturer in Global Development, Peace & Conflict
Rivas Althea-Maria
  • Tel: 020 7898 4754
  • Email: ar66@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: Room 294
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment: tinyurl.com/k2vyz9y2
Dr Matteo Rizzo
Senior Lecturer in Development Studies
Matteo Rizzo

Political economy of development, labour markets and informalisation, agrarian change, urbanisation, privatisation, aid effectiveness, Africa, Tanzania.

  • Tel: 0207 898 4836
  • Email: mr3@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 256
  • Academic Support Hours: By Appointment: http://bit.ly/2gEHDDd
  • On Sabbatical:Terms 1 & 3 (2021/22)
Dr Subir Sinha
Reader in the Theory and Politics of Development
Subir Sinha
South Asia; social movements; civil society; the environment; institutions; agrarian questions; Marxist and postcolonial theory; Social theory in Development studies.
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4495
  • Email: ss61@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 287
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 11am - 1pm

Research Fellows

Mr Marc DuBois
Research Fellow
Marc DuBois

Marc DuBois is an independent humanitarian analyst and consultant based in London; and a Senior Fellow at SOAS (University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies).

Research Project Staff

Ms Angela Haynes
Project Manager, AGRUMIG Project
Teaching Fellow
Angela Haynes
  • Tel: 020 7898 4427
  • Email: ah121@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 4416
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesdays 1.45-2.45pm and Fridays 3.00-4.00

Research Associates & Visiting Scholars

Dr Matilde Adduci
Research Associate
Staff Silhouette

Matilde holds a PhD degree in ‘Civilization, Society and Economy of the Indian Subcontinent’ from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ (thesis title: ‘Social Movements and Development:

Professor Jairus Banaji
Professorial Research Associate
Jairus Banaji

Agrarian history; Late Antiquity and early Islam; historical materialism; and, contemporary India, with a special interest in issues like the critique of minimalist stereotypes of the ancient economy; Marx’s method in Capital; modes of production; the fate of the peasantry under capitalism; and, labour and capital in India’s economy.

Dr Stephen Biggs
Research Associate
Stephen Biggs

Political economy of rural and agrarian change, Patterns of rural and agricultural mechanization, Fairer trade, Politics of global agricultural Science and Technology assessments, Rural development, Research methods.  Mainly worked in Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

Dr Giulia Casentini
Research Associate
Giulia Casentini

Border crossing, identity and political institutions in Ghana and Togo; migration networks, regional mobility and return migration in West Africa. Trafficking, smuggling and migrants' mobility along the Mediterranean route and in Italy. Child trafficking, child labour and labour migration in West Africa.

Dr Diana Felix da Costa
Diana Felix da Costa

South Sudan and East Africa; Murle cultural heritage; youth visual, musical and performative culture; body art, scarification and identity; ethnic identity politics; conflict, politics of humanitarian aid and development.

Dr Edwige Fortier
Research Associate
Edwige Fortier

Research interests include the Middle East and North Africa, international development, civil society, transitions from authoritarian rule, democratisation, neoliberalism, vulnerable and marginalised groups, human rights, multilateralism, non-governmental organisations and HIV/Aids.

Professor Cristobal Kay
Professorial Research Associate
Cristobal Kay
Latin American theories of development, political economy of agrarian change, rural livelihoods, farming systems, land reform, peasant movements, historical comparative analyses of the European and Latin American rural economy and society
Professor Terry McKinley
Professorial Research Associate
Terry McKinley

Growth, Human Development, Employment, Inequality and Poverty. Transition Economies (Armenia, China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan); Asia (Indonesia); Africa (South Africa, Zambia); Middle East (Sudan, Yemen).

Dr Annabel de Frece
Annabel de Frece

Research: development, environment, agriculture, gendered constructions, political economy and culture of food production

Ms Ms Miriam Nabarro
Research Associate
Miriam Nabarro

Art and theatre in conflict and post conflict settings; psychosocial and humanitarian programming in emergencies, participatory methods, community engagement; political economy of violence and conflict, cultural genocide, resilience and survival, representations of violence, politics of memory. Thematic interests in youth, migration, borderlands, Great Lakes, Sudan, Caucasus and the Balkans. Works with printmaking, photography and performance.

Professor James Nickum
Professorial Research Associate
James E. Nickum

Comparative water governance, with focus on China and other Asia; water economies of global cities. 

Fellow of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) and has served as Editor-in-Chief of Water International since 2007. International Advisor, Water Engineering and Policy Centre, the University of Hong Kong;  Adjunct Senior Fellow, the East-West Centre, Honolulu.

Dr Vitor Eduardo Schincariol
Research Associate
Vitor Eduardo Schincariol

Associate Professor of Economic History and Political Economy at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC - Brazil); PhD in Economic History - University of São Paulo (USP - Brazil); Associate Editor of Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy

Dr Claudia Seymour
Research Associate
Claudia Seymour

Young people’s experiences of and means of coping with violence in North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

Dr Victoria Stadheim
Research Associate
Victoria Stadheim

Research interests include the global financial crisis, neoliberalism and capitalist transformation, financialisation, labour and trade unions, and the political economy of development.

Professor Guy Standing
Professorial Research Associate
Guy Standing

Economic security/insecurity, labour and work, cash transfers, basic income, social protection and the 'precaritat'

Emeritus Professors

Professor Henry Bernstein
Emeritus Professor of Development Studies
Henry Bernstein
East Africa and South Africa; sociology of development; agrarian political economy; social and political theory; food commodity chains; governance and development.
Dr Ros Taplin
Ros Taplin

Research: climate change policy, sustainable energy policy, climate change art, education for sustainability

Dr Thomas Tanner
Tom Tanner

Research: climate change policy and planning, anticipatory decision-making, urban resilience, policy processes and political economy.

Administrative Staff