Claire Smith

Claire's research interests are in the comparative politics of conflict management, intervention and peacebuilding in the context of democratic transition. Her particular focus is on the politics of illiberal peacebuilding in contested states. More broadly, Claire works on the national and sub-national politics of post-war governance, the impact of ethno-religious violence, and responses to mass atrocities and civil war. Her geographical expertise is in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Myanmar, as well as Timor-Leste and Cambodia.

Claire co-founded and co-convened the ESRC Strategic Network on ‘Comparative Peacebuilding in Asia’. This international network was led by early career scholars from the LSE, the ANU in Australia, and Gadja Mada University, Indonesia, along with scholars and practitioners from South and Southeast Asia, to support novel, policy-relevant and interdisciplinary research on liberal and illiberal transitions from ethnic conflict and authoritarianism. Most recently, Claire’s research has focused on the political impacts of and responses to mass atrocities in illiberal contexts, in collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Holocaust and Minority Studies; and on the enduring legacies of illiberal peacebuilding in Southeast Asia, with collaborators at Umeå University, Sweden.

Claire’s research has appeared in leading journals such as Conflict, Security and Development, Third World Quarterly and Peacebuilding. Her research has been funded by the ESRC, The Asia Foundation, and The World Peace Foundation.

Career

Before her career at York, Claire was a Teaching Fellow at the LSE and at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She has also held Visiting Fellowship at the LSE and the University of Indonesia. Claire has a PhD in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2009), an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University (2001) and a BA Hons in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford University (1997).