Christopher Mcdowell

Biography

"Dr Christopher McDowell, Associate Dean for Global Engagement, School of Arts and Social Sciences Dr Christopher McDowell has been at City University London since 2006 and is currently Associate Dean for Global Engagement. He has previously held positions at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, King’s College London, and Macquarie University in Sydney. Christopher was visiting Professor at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2012. He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute. Christopher conducts research, engages in advisory work and teaches on the politics of forced migration, development-created involuntary resettlement security, and international politics. He has conducted extended periods of research in East and Southern Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia with a long term interest in Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. Dr McDowell’s publications can be viewed on Google Scholar. The impact of some of his research was included in City University London’s 2014 REF submission. Christopher has undertaken consultancy and advisory roles for the Inspection Panel of The World Bank (involuntary resettlement in Uganda, Ghana and Nepal), Government of Norway and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva (global non-conflict displacement), World Health Organisation, Asian Development Bank (involuntary resettlement in China, India, Cambodia), the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor (environmental migration), AusAID/UNOCHA (humanitarian response to the East Timor crisis)."

Research Interest

"Dr McDowell's most recent research, conducted in Kyrgyzstan, has examined Soviet collectivisation as a form of forced migration and involuntary resettlement to accelerate the socialisation of Kyrgyzstan's population, and the incorporation of the territory into the Soviet Union. Dr McDowell's past research has focused on involuntary resettlement and its socio-cultural and political outcomes, and the governance of resettlement. He regularly advises UN agencies, development banks and governments on socio-political aspects of displacement. Dr McDowell specialises in South Asia and East Africa and has undertaken extended research in southern Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, India and China. Dr McDowell has been a member of the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI), located in the Office of the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, since 2008. Past publications include Understanding Impoverishment (1996), A Tamil Asylum Diaspora (1996), Risks and Responsibilities (2000), Catching Fire (2006), and Non-Conflict Displacement: Challenges for the 21st Century (2010)."