Prof Milja Kurki
BA University of Hull; MscEcon University of Wales, Aberystwyth; PhD University of Wales, Aberystwyth
EH Carr Chair
Department of International Politics
Contact Details
- Email: mlk@aber.ac.uk
- ORCID: 0000-0003-4365-0436
- Office: 2.07, International Politics Building
- Phone: +44 (0) 1970 628639
- Twitter: @Kurki_m
- Research Portal Profile
Profile
I'm interested in how we think about the world and the differences in how we see and 'read' what is going on around us. I've explored questions around how we analyse 'causes' (of wars, development) in international politics and also the contested nature of democracy and how this affects the attempts to promote democracy. Since 2015 I've worked on a cross-disciplinary project on cosmological imagination in the study and practice of international relations. This has involved asking important questions around scientific cosmology, post-humanism and decolonisation of knowledge.
I'm a co-editor of the journal International Relations and Director of the Planetary Challenges and Politics Centre at Aberystwyth University's Department of International Politics. Between 2008 and 2012 I acted as the Principal Investigator of a major research project 'Political Economies of Democratisation' funded by the European Research Council.
Teaching
Module Coordinator
- IP12420 - Exploring the International 1: Central Concepts and Core Skills
- IP30720 - Climate Change and International Politics in the Anthropocene
- IP20720 - Climate Change and International Politics in the Anthropocene
- IPM1720 - Global Challenges and the Future of International Relations Theory
Tutor
- GW20120 - Cysylltiadau Rhyngwladol: Safbwyntiau a Thrafodaethau
- IP20120 - International Relations: Perspectives and Debates
- IP33020 - Science, Technology, and International Relations
Lecturer
- IP12420 - Exploring the International 1: Central Concepts and Core Skills
- PGM4210 - Principles of Research Design
- IP20120 - International Relations: Perspectives and Debates
Coordinator
- IPM1720 - Global Challenges and the Future of International Relations Theory
- PGM4210 - Principles of Research Design
- IP20720 - Climate Change and International Politics in the Anthropocene
- IP30720 - Climate Change and International Politics in the Anthropocene
- IP12420 - Exploring the International 1: Central Concepts and Core Skills
Moderator
Research
My research is focused on theoretical and conceptual study of international politics but I'm is also interested in exploration of the policy implications of conceptual issues. My PhD was focused on the analysis of the meaning of causality in IR scholarship. I then led a European Research Council project on the conceptual foundations of democracy promotion practices between 2008 and 2012, a project which involved extensive policy engagement.
Currently, I'm working on an open-ended research agenda on planetary politics and democracy, a project with important implications for how we tackle climate change politics and environmental harms. I'm also interested in the ways in which our cosmological assumptions structure how we approach international relations and what would happen to ways in which we can do politics if we rethink cosmological framings.
Office Hours (Student Contact Times)
- Monday 11.30-12.30
- Thursday 14.30-15.30