Head of Research prioritises new generation of peace researchers

Caroline Varin joins Inclusive Peace this month as the new Head of Research. She shares her perspectives and priorities in the role: 

“The next generation of peace researchers has a markedly different approach than academics of the post-WW2 era, and I expect they will introduce more in-depth and inclusive analysis into peace and conflict studies. 

We are seeing a rise of new voices, especially from the non-Western community, whose experiences, history, and culture have often been ignored in analysis. This has been a major limit to our ability to understand peace and conflict globally and locally.

A top priority is to make a concerted effort to consult with and include the other voices and perspectives in peace research.”

Biography

Prior to joining Inclusive Peace, Caroline spent ten years as a Senior Lecturer at Regent’s University London, where her research focused on Security and Conflict. She has published 6 books, including Boko Haram and the War on Terror (ABC-Clio 2016), Violent Non-State Actors in Africa (Palgrave 2018), Security in Nigeria (Bloomsbury 2020) and Global Security in Times of Covid-19 (Palgrave 2022). 

Caroline is also co-founder and CEO of educational charity Professors Without Borders, and has published a book on teaching games for adult learners (Routledge 2022). She is a member of the Geneva Consultation for Security Policy and has previous experience working in Intelligence Analysis, the Swiss armed forces and the UNHCR.

Caroline holds a PhD in International Relations and an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, an LLM in International and European Law from Università di Bologna and a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently completing an MBA in Educational Leadership from Tampere University.