About
Gerard Clarke is Associate Professor in Politics and International Development in the department. He specialises in the interface between politics and international development, and in politics in the global South. Much of his research has been on the nature of civil society and of civil society organisations, especially non-governmental organisations, in developing country contexts, with a recent focus on global civil society. In addition, he focuses on development policy and practise, including support for civil society and for rights-based approaches to development. He also undertakes research on development within specific countries and regions (especially the Philippines and Southeast Asia).
A graduate of the University of Limerick, he completed a M.Sc.(Econ) degree in Comparative Government at the London School of Economics, graduating with distinction. After working with Christian Aid in London for two years, he completed a PhD on Philippine politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) (University of London) with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. He has acted as a consultant to a number of organisations, including the Department for International Development, the World Bank and the National Audit Office, as well as for KPMG and a number of national and international NGOs, working in more than 20 countries. He joined the forerunner of the current department of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy in 2010 and since then has worked on research projects funded by the British Academy, the Commonwealth Foundation and the German Research Foundation. He is a member of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Peer Review College, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a former head of the department. In 2009, he was joint winner of the European Journal of Development Research prize.