Conor Judge

Conor is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Aberystwyth University's Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, working on the Rural Spatial Justice Project, a five-year European Research Council Advanced Grant. Conor joined Aberystwyth University in 2024 on completion of his DPhil in Sociology from Nuffield College, University of Oxford. On the Rural Spatial Justice project, Conor contributes primarily through quantitative and geospatial methods.

Conor’s research background is situated in applying quantitative methods to the study of rural development and rural discontent. Specifically, he is concerned with the application of a critical approach to rural development schemes in the EU in order to understand what they achieve and how they can best be evaluated.

Conor previously studied at Trinity College Dublin for a BA in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Sociology and an MSc in Sociology from the University of Oxford. He has previously worked at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and as a Community Development Officer on the EU-funded LEADER program at one of Ireland’s leading local development NGOs, IRD Duhallow where he managed a wide range of projects in conjunction with local communities. Conor was also previously involved as an expert advisor/policy analyst for the European LEADER Association for Rural Development (ELARD) on the Cowork4Youth project and on various projects supporting research and evaluation for local development companies in Ireland.