Dr Emiline Smith

  • Lecturer in Criminology (Sociological & Cultural Studies)

Biography

Dr Emiline Smith (she/her) has been a Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Social and Political Sciences since 2019. Emiline is a member of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research,the UK Blue Shield, the Trafficking Culture Research Consortium, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Additionally, she serves as an advisor for Ocean Culture Life and is a Fellow at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong. 

Emiline’s research concerns the protection, securitization and repatriation of cultural and natural resources, such as heritage and wildlife. She is further interested in different forms of transnational and white-collar crime. She explores how and why participants take part in illicit transnational trades, and how urban settings, especially so-called ‘global cities’, facilitate such trade. She also studies harms and crimes against the ocean. Emiline's research primarily focuses on Asia: she has done related fieldwork in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. 

Emiline advises several non-/governmental organizations about these topics. Her research has been published in numerous journal articles, book chapters, and media articles, and has been funded by a variety of prestigious funding bodies, including the UK Global Challenges Research Fund, the Scottish Government, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Price Bernard Culture Fund and U21. 

Emiline recently wrote and published a children's book titled 'Pema and the Stolen Statue from Dolpa'. The story centres around a young girl named Pema, who learns more about the unique cultural heritage of her region and sets off to return a stolen statue to its rightful place. To learn about the book, order a copy and donate to support efforts to protect Dolpa's cultural heritage, see: www.stolenstatues.com 

Research interests

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017
Number of items: 34.

2025

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Nurse, Angus (2025) Repression over responsibility: sanctioning of environmental activism. Environmental Research Letters, 20(8), 081003. (doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/adef6b)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2025) Scholarly facilitation of the illicit trade in cultural objects: providing a veneer of legitimacy. Advances in Archaeological Practice, (doi: 10.1017/aap.2024.35) (Early Online Publication)

Perez-Alvaro, Elena, Pinfold, Tom, Roberts, Hayley, Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Gane, Toby (2025) The Blue Shield UK Underwater Heritage Working Group’s position paper on the UK’s ratification of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. International Journal of Cultural Property, 32(2), pp. 215-221. (doi: 10.1017/S0940739125100088)

Fabiani, Michelle D. and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2025) In want of methodological rigor: a critique of Suber et al. (2022). International Journal of Cultural Property, 31(3), pp. 381-385. (doi: 10.1017/S0940739125000086)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Austin, Summer (2025) Champagne, caviar, and provenance gaps at TEFAF Maastricht. Hyperallergic, 20 March.

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2025) Art Institute of Chicago returns sacred Buddha statue to Nepal. Hyperallergic, 4 March.

2024

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Nurse, Angus and Doornbos, Elliot (2024) Blue Organized and Corporate Crimes: Perspectives on Harms Against the Ocean and Marine Ecosystems. 24-hour Conference on Global Organized Crime, Online, Oct 2024.

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Balcells, Marc (2024) Proposing a Victimology Model for the Trade in Cultural Objects. European Society of Criminology, Bucharest, Romania, 11-14 Sept 2024.

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2024) Return of Rare Lizard Specimen to Jamaica Renews Repatriation Debates. Hyperallergic,

2023

Brodie, Neil, Kersel, Morag, Mackenzie, Simon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-4732, Sabrine, Isber, Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Yates, Donna, Soares, Anauene and Benevides, Gilmara (2023) Por que ainda há um comércio ilícito de objetos culturais e o que podemos fazer a esse respeito = Why there is still an illicit trade in cultural objects and what we can do about it. In: Benevides, Gilmara and Lowande, Walter (eds.) Estudos Críticos de Patrimônio: Abordagens Transnacionais = Critical Heritage Studies: Transnational Approaches. Tirant lo blanch, pp. 93-117. ISBN 9786559086672

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) The Sun is Setting on the British Museum. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) Activists Protest at Rubin Museum-Backed Exhibition in Nepal. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Thompson, Erin L. (2023) A case study of academic facilitation of the global illicit trade in cultural objects: Mary Slusser in Nepal. International Journal of Cultural Property, (doi: 10.1017/S0940739123000048) (Early Online Publication)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) How a Nepali Statue Found Its Way Back Home. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia. In: Lynes, Adam, Kelly, Craig and Treadwell, James (eds.) 50 Dark Destinations: Crime and Contemporary Tourism. Policy Press. ISBN 9781447362197

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Heys, Chloe ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3892-4538 (2023) Ethical and mental health considerations for research into trade and trafficking of natural resources. Conservation Letters, 16(2), e12926. (doi: 10.1111/conl.12926)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Smith, Oliver (2023) The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean. In: Lynes, Adam, Kelly, Craig and Treadwell, James (eds.) 50 Dark Destinations: Crime and Contemporary Tourism. Policy Press. ISBN 9781447362197

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) Pema and the Stolen Statue from Dolpa. SAMA.

2022

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) Dolpa’s cultural heritage does not belong in a museum. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) The ongoing quest to return Nepal's looted cultural heritage. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 23(2), pp. 264-271. (doi: 10.1353/gia.2022.0039)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) A Small Community in Nepal Wants Its Stolen God Back. [Website]

Yates, Donna and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) Museums and the market: passive facilitation of the illicit trade in antiquities. In: Stevenson, Alice (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Museum Archaeology. Series: Oxford handbooks. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 87-97. ISBN 9780198847526 (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198847526.013.11)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) Notes from the field: Dolpa. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) The Ongoing Looting of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Heritage. [Website]

Brodie, Neil, Kersel, Morag M., Mackenzie, Simon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-4732, Sabrine, Isber, Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Yates, Donna (2022) Why there is still an illicit trade in cultural objects and what we can do about it. Journal of Field Archaeology, 47(2), pp. 117-130. (doi: 10.1080/00934690.2021.1996979)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Ristiawan, Rucitarahma and Sudarmadi, Tular (2022) Protection and repatriation of cultural heritage – country report: Indonesia. Santander Art and Culture Law Review, 2022(2), pp. 383-406. (doi: 10.4467/2450050XSNR.22.025.17038)

2021

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2021) Evaluating the transformative potential of photovoice for research into the global illicit trade in cultural objects. In: Oosterman, Naomi and Yates, Donna (eds.) Crime and Art: Sociological and Criminological Perspectives of Crimes in the Art World. Series: Studies in art, heritage, law and the market (1). Springer: Cham, pp. 63-78. ISBN 9783030848552 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-84856-9_5)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2021) In Myanmar, protests harness creativity and humor. [Website]

Thompson, Erin L. and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2021) Stumbling towards repatriation. [Website]

2019

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2019) Transnational crime in Asia: causes, effects, challenges. In: Mitsilegas, Valsamis, Hufnagel, Saskia and Moiseienko, Anton (eds.) Research Handbook on Transnational Crime. Series: Research handbooks on globalisation and the law. Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, pp. 472-481. ISBN 9781784719432 (doi: 10.4337/9781784719449.00039)

Yates, Donna and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2019) Antiquities trafficking and the provenance problem. In: Milosch, Jane and Pearce, Nick (eds.) Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, Maryland, pp. 385-394. ISBN 9781538127568

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Yates, Donna (2019) The role of provenance in illicit antiquities research: an overview. In: Milosch, Jane and Pearce, Nick (eds.) Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD. ISBN 9781538127575

2018

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Hübschle, Annette and Yates, Donna (2018) Heritage, Culture and Rights: Challenging Legal Discourses. By Andrea Durbach and Lucas Lixinski (Eds.). Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2017. Law and Society Review, 52(2), pp. 537-540. (doi: 10.1111/lasr.12333)[Book Review]

2017

Yates, Donna, Mackenzie, Simon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-4732 and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2017) The cultural capitalists: notes on the ongoing reconfiguration of trafficking culture in Asia. Crime, Media, Culture, 13(2), pp. 245-254. (doi: 10.1177/1741659017700947)

This list was generated on Thu Sep 18 13:53:59 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections | Book Reviews | Conference or Workshop Item | Website
Number of items: 34.

Articles

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Nurse, Angus (2025) Repression over responsibility: sanctioning of environmental activism. Environmental Research Letters, 20(8), 081003. (doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/adef6b)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2025) Scholarly facilitation of the illicit trade in cultural objects: providing a veneer of legitimacy. Advances in Archaeological Practice, (doi: 10.1017/aap.2024.35) (Early Online Publication)

Perez-Alvaro, Elena, Pinfold, Tom, Roberts, Hayley, Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Gane, Toby (2025) The Blue Shield UK Underwater Heritage Working Group’s position paper on the UK’s ratification of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. International Journal of Cultural Property, 32(2), pp. 215-221. (doi: 10.1017/S0940739125100088)

Fabiani, Michelle D. and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2025) In want of methodological rigor: a critique of Suber et al. (2022). International Journal of Cultural Property, 31(3), pp. 381-385. (doi: 10.1017/S0940739125000086)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Austin, Summer (2025) Champagne, caviar, and provenance gaps at TEFAF Maastricht. Hyperallergic, 20 March.

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2025) Art Institute of Chicago returns sacred Buddha statue to Nepal. Hyperallergic, 4 March.

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2024) Return of Rare Lizard Specimen to Jamaica Renews Repatriation Debates. Hyperallergic,

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Thompson, Erin L. (2023) A case study of academic facilitation of the global illicit trade in cultural objects: Mary Slusser in Nepal. International Journal of Cultural Property, (doi: 10.1017/S0940739123000048) (Early Online Publication)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Heys, Chloe ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3892-4538 (2023) Ethical and mental health considerations for research into trade and trafficking of natural resources. Conservation Letters, 16(2), e12926. (doi: 10.1111/conl.12926)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) The ongoing quest to return Nepal's looted cultural heritage. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 23(2), pp. 264-271. (doi: 10.1353/gia.2022.0039)

Brodie, Neil, Kersel, Morag M., Mackenzie, Simon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-4732, Sabrine, Isber, Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Yates, Donna (2022) Why there is still an illicit trade in cultural objects and what we can do about it. Journal of Field Archaeology, 47(2), pp. 117-130. (doi: 10.1080/00934690.2021.1996979)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Ristiawan, Rucitarahma and Sudarmadi, Tular (2022) Protection and repatriation of cultural heritage – country report: Indonesia. Santander Art and Culture Law Review, 2022(2), pp. 383-406. (doi: 10.4467/2450050XSNR.22.025.17038)

Yates, Donna, Mackenzie, Simon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-4732 and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2017) The cultural capitalists: notes on the ongoing reconfiguration of trafficking culture in Asia. Crime, Media, Culture, 13(2), pp. 245-254. (doi: 10.1177/1741659017700947)

Books

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) Pema and the Stolen Statue from Dolpa. SAMA.

Book Sections

Brodie, Neil, Kersel, Morag, Mackenzie, Simon ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-4732, Sabrine, Isber, Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Yates, Donna, Soares, Anauene and Benevides, Gilmara (2023) Por que ainda há um comércio ilícito de objetos culturais e o que podemos fazer a esse respeito = Why there is still an illicit trade in cultural objects and what we can do about it. In: Benevides, Gilmara and Lowande, Walter (eds.) Estudos Críticos de Patrimônio: Abordagens Transnacionais = Critical Heritage Studies: Transnational Approaches. Tirant lo blanch, pp. 93-117. ISBN 9786559086672

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia. In: Lynes, Adam, Kelly, Craig and Treadwell, James (eds.) 50 Dark Destinations: Crime and Contemporary Tourism. Policy Press. ISBN 9781447362197

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Smith, Oliver (2023) The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean. In: Lynes, Adam, Kelly, Craig and Treadwell, James (eds.) 50 Dark Destinations: Crime and Contemporary Tourism. Policy Press. ISBN 9781447362197

Yates, Donna and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) Museums and the market: passive facilitation of the illicit trade in antiquities. In: Stevenson, Alice (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Museum Archaeology. Series: Oxford handbooks. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 87-97. ISBN 9780198847526 (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198847526.013.11)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2021) Evaluating the transformative potential of photovoice for research into the global illicit trade in cultural objects. In: Oosterman, Naomi and Yates, Donna (eds.) Crime and Art: Sociological and Criminological Perspectives of Crimes in the Art World. Series: Studies in art, heritage, law and the market (1). Springer: Cham, pp. 63-78. ISBN 9783030848552 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-84856-9_5)

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2019) Transnational crime in Asia: causes, effects, challenges. In: Mitsilegas, Valsamis, Hufnagel, Saskia and Moiseienko, Anton (eds.) Research Handbook on Transnational Crime. Series: Research handbooks on globalisation and the law. Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, pp. 472-481. ISBN 9781784719432 (doi: 10.4337/9781784719449.00039)

Yates, Donna and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2019) Antiquities trafficking and the provenance problem. In: Milosch, Jane and Pearce, Nick (eds.) Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, Maryland, pp. 385-394. ISBN 9781538127568

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Yates, Donna (2019) The role of provenance in illicit antiquities research: an overview. In: Milosch, Jane and Pearce, Nick (eds.) Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD. ISBN 9781538127575

Book Reviews

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Hübschle, Annette and Yates, Donna (2018) Heritage, Culture and Rights: Challenging Legal Discourses. By Andrea Durbach and Lucas Lixinski (Eds.). Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2017. Law and Society Review, 52(2), pp. 537-540. (doi: 10.1111/lasr.12333)[Book Review]

Conference or Workshop Item

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X, Nurse, Angus and Doornbos, Elliot (2024) Blue Organized and Corporate Crimes: Perspectives on Harms Against the Ocean and Marine Ecosystems. 24-hour Conference on Global Organized Crime, Online, Oct 2024.

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X and Balcells, Marc (2024) Proposing a Victimology Model for the Trade in Cultural Objects. European Society of Criminology, Bucharest, Romania, 11-14 Sept 2024.

Website

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) The Sun is Setting on the British Museum. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) Activists Protest at Rubin Museum-Backed Exhibition in Nepal. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2023) How a Nepali Statue Found Its Way Back Home. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) Dolpa’s cultural heritage does not belong in a museum. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) A Small Community in Nepal Wants Its Stolen God Back. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) Notes from the field: Dolpa. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2022) The Ongoing Looting of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Heritage. [Website]

Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2021) In Myanmar, protests harness creativity and humor. [Website]

Thompson, Erin L. and Smith, Emiline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1813-267X (2021) Stumbling towards repatriation. [Website]

This list was generated on Thu Sep 18 13:53:59 2025 BST.

Grants

  • 2023-24 International Science Partnerships Fund ODA Grant. Project: ‘A New Equitable, Community-Informed Repatriation Model for Indonesia's Cultural Heritage’ (PI);
  • 2022-23 ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. Project: ‘Inspiring Nepal’s Future Generation to Protect Cultural & Natural Heritage’ (PI); 
  • 2021-22 SCCJR Development Fund (PI): 'Tracing Informal and Illicit Plastic Waste Disposal in the Maldives' (PI); 
  • 2021-22 SPS ECR Support Fund. Project: ‘Beheaded Buddhas & Empty Stupas: Looting and Trafficking of Sri Lankan Cultural Objects’ (PI);
  • 2020-21 GCRF Small Grants: 'Art, Feathers & Crime: New Approaches to Studying Natural and Cultural Heritage Trafficking in Indonesia' (PI);
  • 2020-21 U21 Researcher Resilience Fund (PI): New Research and Teaching Pathways in the Digital Age: Addressing Challenges and Opportunities for Criminologists and Sociologists During Covid-19' (PI);
  • 2019-21 GCRF Small Grants (PI): 'Global synchronization and the illicit antiquities trade: understanding community crime prevention in post-earthquake Nepal and Myanmar' (PI). 

Supervision

Emiline accepts PhD proposals in the areas of art crime; trade, securitization and repatriation of cultural objects; environmental crime and wildlife trafficking; crimes of the powerful; green criminology; blue criminology; illicit trade and trafficking networks; and global and comparative criminology. Those interested in studying with Emiline are asked to include both their CV and an abridged project proposal in any inquiries.

Teaching


Dr Emiline Smith on Bluesky Dr Emiline Smith on Twitter