Dr Neil Crawford

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in International Politics and Public Policy and Programme Director for the Doctor of Diplomacy at the University of Stirling, Scotland, and a Visiting Research Fellow in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds, England. My interdisciplinary research sits at the intersections of international studies, human geography, and anthropology, with a focus on climate and environmental justice, forced migration and displacement, urbanism, gender and sexuality, and African politics.

I am the author/editor of 5 books and 15+ articles/chapters. I am the author of the monograph, ‘The Urbanization of Forced Displacement: UNHCR, Urban Refugees, and the Dynamics of Policy Change’ (McGill–Queen’s University Press, 2021), which received International Studies Association’s 2023 Distinguished Book Award in Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration, and was a finalist for the Academic Council of the United Nations System’s 2022 Biennial Book Award. The book examines how the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has responded to the movement of refugees to cities, and traces the dynamics of policy change within the global refugee regime. As part of a partnership between McGill–Queen’s University Press, the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network, and Carleton University Library, it is available open access to readers, scholars, and students in the Global South, as well as those working in non-profit and community organisations concerned with displacement.

I also edited the special collection, ‘The Climate Connection: Cultural Relations’, for the British Council as part of 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland; the photography book ‘See Change: Visualising the Urban Climate Crisis’ (FOTEA, 2023), which was launched alongside an exhibition at the National Museum of Uganda in 2023; and ‘Climate Justice in the Majority World: Vulnerability, Resistance, and Diverse Knowledges’ (Routledge, 2023), published as part of the Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research series. My recent edited books include ‘Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa’ (Bloomsbury, 2025) and ‘Climate Justice in Action: Activism and Adaptation in Eastern Africa’ (Bristol University Press, 2026), the only major scholarly and creative projects to date focused specifically on intersectional climate justice and grassroots climate action in Eastern Africa - one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable and underrepresented regions. Both volumes have been published open access, funded by competitive OA grants from Bloomsbury Open Collections and The De Gruyter eBound Foundation.

I have over a decade of higher education teaching experience, hold a master’s degree in education, and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. At Stirling, I coordinate specialist modules including ‘Global Climate Justice’, ‘Urban Politics and Policy’, and ‘Intersectionality and Climate Change’. I supervise doctoral and undergraduate/postgraduate research projects, and direct the Doctor of Diplomacy programme - the first professional doctorate in Diplomacy Studies in Europe.

I hold degrees (M.A., B.Sc., M.Litt., M.A., Ph.D.) from the University of Edinburgh, the University of St Andrews, and City St George’s, University of London, and have held research and teaching positions across the UK and visiting fellowships in Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, and the UK. I am the current Lead for the Thematic Network on Climate Justice in the Arctic under the University of the Arctic (UArctic), a global network advancing education and research across the circumpolar North. I also serve as Research Seminar Coordinator for Stirling’s Centre for Environment, Heritage and Policy, sit on the Editorial Board of ‘Political Geography’, and act as an academic advisor for the ‘University of Stirling Human Rights Journal’. Previously, I managed the ‘Routledge Studies in Climate Justice’ book series, was an Associate Editor of the Political Studies Association’s journal, ‘Politics’, and have held multiple leadership positions within the International Studies Association, British International Studies Association, and the Royal Geographical Society.

Research interests: climate and environmental justice; forced migration/displacement and refugee studies; urbanism and cities; gender and sexuality studies; international organisations, humanitarianism, and the United Nations; African politics; applied qualitative research methods (art-based, ethnographic, ethics, etc).

Module Convenor (current): 'Political Concepts and Ideas' (undergraduate, pre-honours); 'Global Climate Justice' (undergraduate, honours); 'Urban Politics and Policy' (undergraduate, honours), ‘Intersectionality and Climate Change’ (postgraduate).

Module Convenor (past): ‘Diplomacy: Professionalism, Theory, and History’ (postgraduate).

Module Contributor: ‘People, Power, and the State: An Introduction to Politics’ (undergraduate, pre-honours); 'Understanding International Politics’ (undergraduate, pre-honours); 'Comparative Politics: States, People, Power’ (undergraduate, pre-honours); 'Research Methods in Politics' (undergraduate, honours); 'Politics/International Politics - Dissertation' (undergraduate); 'Researching International Politics' (postgraduate); 'International Conflict and Cooperation - Dissertation' (postgraduate); 'Human Rights and Climate Change' (postgraduate); 'Migrants, Refugees and Diasporas – Conflict and Coexistence' (postgraduate).

Stirling Student's Union - Recognising and Advancing Teaching Excellence (RATE) Award: Finalist, Outstanding Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (2025); Nominated, Outstanding Academic Mentorship (2025); Nominated, Teacher of the Year in Arts & Humanities (2024, 2025).