News
PUBLISHED: 29MAR2018
The Max Bell School of Public Policy was featured in an article highlighting the achievements of Jennifer Welsh, who will be joining the school in January, 2019. The international-relations scholar will become one of the Canada 150 Research Chairs at McGill University. The appointment was among the 24 Chairs announced today at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
Jennifer Welsh’s rare combination of high-impact scholarship, diplomatic experience, and public engagement make her a perfect fit for her new role. As Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security, she will focus on the changing character and regulation of armed conflict, including the roles of key institutions such as the United Nations, national armed forces, non-state armed groups, and humanitarian organizations.
Welsh carved out a reputation as one of the world’s most prominent thinkers on the history and practice of humanitarian intervention during her years as an international-relations professor at the University of Oxford. In 2013, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon appointed her as his Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect, a political commitment by all heads of state to prevent and respond to atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing.
A Rhodes scholar and former Trudeau Fellow, Welsh helped create and direct the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, the first interdisciplinary institute of its kind in Europe. Since 2014, she has been Professor and Chair in International Relations at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, where she has continued to direct the European Research Council project on the “Individualisation of War.”
At McGill, Welsh will hold a joint appointment between the Department of Political Science and the new Max Bell School of Public Policy. She will also serve as director of the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies, which brings together researchers from McGill and Université de Montréal to focus on issues at the interface of international relations and public policy.
