Sandra Pogodda is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies. She earned her PhD at the University of Cambridge before holding post-doctoral fellowships at Johns Hopkins University, the United States Institute of Peace, Chatham House and the University of St Andrews.

Her research comprises two strands. The first strand explores why peace processes across the world are currently stagnating, backsliding or collapsing into war. It identifies “counter-peace” processes that connect spoilers across all scales with tactics that exploit structural blockages and unintended consequences of peace interventions. This research was presented in the UN Secretariat and led to a forthcoming book with Oxford University Press (Counter-Peace: Tactical Blockages to Peace and Strategic Risks for the International System). The second strand of her work focuses on revolutions in global politics. This research examines why attempted revolutions in the 21^stCentury tend to fail and lead to protracted wars or a relapse into authoritarianism. Moreover, this work investigates peace mediation in contemporary revolutionary wars.

Sandra’s research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals (e.g. European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Studies, Contemporary Security Policy, Democratization, Third World Quarterly, Cooperation and Conflict).  Her books have been published by Manchester University Press (EU and Crisis Response), Edinburgh University Press (Post-Liberal Peace Transitions), and Palgrave (Failed Peacemaking: Counter-Peace and International Order; The Palgrave Handbook of Disciplinary and Regional Approaches to Peace; and Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies).

Her work has been funded by the European Commission, the Global Challenges Research Fund, the ECPR, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Foundation, UKRI and the University of Manchester. Across Sandra’s eight research grants, she has collaboratively raised £4.6 million. Currently, she is involved in her fourth multinational research consortium (‘Embracing change: Overcoming Blockages and Advancing Democracy in the European Neighbourhood’, which involves 15 partner institutions in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa).

Moreover, Sandra has received awards and fellowships for her work such as the Duncan Black Award, a Marie Curie fellowship at the University of Cambridge, a Transatlantic Postdoctoral Fellowship, and a commendation for outstanding MA dissertation supervision.