Welcome! I am Assistant Professor of International Development at the University of Birmingham in the UK and Associate Fellow at CIPSS McGill.
My research explores why and how power is exercised over conflict and crisis affected populations in and through humanitarian and development response. I also explore how these groups take power back. I do so with a focus on the Middle East. I also work on issues of localization, attacks on healthcare, and climate migration. My current book project, Disruptive by Design: Health, Refugees, and Humanitarian Governance in the Middle East, examines the ways humanitarian boundaries were deliberately transformed by humanitarian organizations and aid workers in response to the War in Syria and refugee crisis in Lebanon and Jordan. My work has appeared in journals, such as World Development, Deadulus, and the Journal of Global Security Studies, amongst others, and I have been contributor to outlets including the Washington Post and the New Humanitarian.
I received my Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, am a Fulbright Alumna, and have held postdoctoral positions at the Josef Korbel School and McGill University.
International Development Department
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT, UK
Twitter: @emilykmscott
Bluesky: @emilykmscott.bsky.social
You can also find me on:
Women Also Know Stuff, the Conversation, LinkedIn, BEACON, and the McGill Refugee Research Group.