Ben Francis

Biography

Ben Francis (Peace Studies and Political Science) is originally from the United Kingdom and has a decade’s worth of experience working in the development and peacebuilding fields through a number of international NGOs. Ben has lived and worked in conflict-affected areas as diverse as Palestine, Libya, Nepal, and Afghanistan, and these experiences have helped to shape how he understands the drivers and mechanics of conflict in different contexts.

With a broad research agenda focussed mostly on climate politics and gender politics, much of Ben’s scholarly work examines the role of gender in the climate-conflict nexus. Ben also manages a related research project which examines the politics of environmental remediation in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

During his PhD, Ben has been awarded an Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award in 2023 and served as the Sustainability co-chair in Graduate Student Government (GSG). He was a Graduate Justice Fellow at the Center for Social Concerns at Notre Dame in 2023/24 and has been a Visiting Scholar at Drexel University since 2024. He has been awarded research grant funding by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

He holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Westminster and an M.A. in Global Development and Political Economy from the University of Leeds.

Areas of Interest

Climate Change, Gender Politics, Political Violence, Peacebuilding, Middle East & North Africa, South Asia