Professor Gerasimos Tsourapas
- Professor of International Relations (Politics)
telephone:
01413308755
email:
Gerasimos.Tsourapas@glasgow.ac.uk
Adam Smith Building, Room 1204, 28 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RS, Phone 8832
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2746-9752Biography
Gerasimos Tsourapas is Professor of International Relations at the University of Glasgow, and the Chair of the Ethnicity, Nationalism, & Migration Studies (ENMISA) Section of the International Studies Association (2023–25). He works on the international relations of the Middle East and the broader Global South, with a particular focus on the politics of migrants, refugees, and diasporas.
In his research, Gerasimos has advanced the concepts of migration diplomacy and migration interdependence in order to theorise the interplay between foreign policy and cross-border mobility. He is currently the Principal Investigator of a five-year European Research Council Starting Grant project on migration diplomacy, and his work on migration interdependence in North Africa and the Levant was recognised with the 2017 Martin O. Heisler Award by the International Studies Association. His latest book, Migration Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa – Power, Mobility, and the State, was published by Manchester University Press in 2021, supported by research grants from the British Academy and the Council for British Research in the Levant. Gerasimos also received the inaugural ENMISA Emerging Scholar Award by the International Studies Association in 2021.
A second strand of his work focuses on the politics of migration in the Global South. Gerasimos has published on the workings of postcolonial migration states in the Middle East and South Asia and the emergence of a transnational social contract across South-South migration contexts with Kamal Sadiq (University of California, Irvine). He also co-edited, with Maria Koinova (University of Warwick), a special issue on 'Diasporas and Sending States in World Politics' for International Political Science Review. His doctoral dissertation on the evolution of migration policymaking in Egypt after the 1952 Free Officers Revolution, based on fourteen months of fieldwork in Cairo, was awarded the American Political Science Association's Best Dissertation Award on Migration & Citizenship in 2016. For his first book, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt – Strategies for Regime Survival in Autocracies (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Gerasimos received the 2020 ENMISA Distinguished Book Award by the International Studies Association and was shortlisted for the British International Studies Association's L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize.
Finally, Gerasimos is conducting research on forced migration governance, particularly in terms of processes of refugee commodification in domestic and international politics. Based on extensive fieldwork in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey during the Syrian refugee crisis, he identified the emergence of refugee rent-seeking processes by states seeking to leverage their position as host states of displaced communities for material gain. His research on strategies of 'blackmailing' and 'backscratching' by refugee rentier states was recognised with the 2020 VIADUCT Research Award (Erasmus+ European Union). With Hélène Thiollet (Sciences Po), he is currently researching the twin concepts of migration and refugee rentierism for a project co-funded by The Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS – George Washington University).
Gerasimos is passionate about teaching and mentoring students and early-career scholars. He has supervised four PhD research projects to completion, and is currently supervising five doctoral students on topics related to migration, refugee, and Middle East politics. He received the Director's Teaching Prize at SOAS, University of London, and is currently a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy.
Gerasimos served as a Fellow at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University (2019–20) and The American University in Cairo (2013–14). He holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science from Yale University (2006), an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2007), and a PhD in Politics from SOAS, University of London (2016).
Grants
- 2023–28, ERC Consolidator Grant: Disappearing Act: Reconstructing the Crime of Disappearances in Times of Political Violence [DISACT]. Funded by: European Research Council. Role: Team Member.
- 2022–27, ERC Starting Grant: The International Politics of Mobility Sanctions [MOBSANCT]. Funded by: European Research Council.
- 2022–25, De-centering the Study of Migrant Returns & Readmission Policies in Europe and Beyond. Funded by: European Commission, Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Role: Consortium Participant Organisation Lead.
- 2022–23, ISRF Flexible Grant for Small Groups Award. Funded by: Independent Research Social Foundation. Role: PI.
- 2021–23, The Libyan Migration State. Funded by: Society for Libyan Studies. Role: PI.
- 2020–22, The Rise of Transnational Authoritarianism in the Middle East. Funded by: Council for British Research in the Levant Pilot Grant. Role: PI.
- 2020–22, Non-State Actors and Migration Diplomacy in the Middle East. Funded by: ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. Role: PI.
- 2018–2023, MAGYC (Migration Governance and asYlum Crises). Funded by: European Commission, Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Role: Research Team Member.
- 2018–19, The International Politics of Middle East Migration: Problems, Policy, Practice. Funded by: British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award. Role: PI.
- 2017–19, Migration Diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean - Inter-State Politics of Population Mobility in the Middle East. Funded by: Council for British Research in the Levant Pilot Grant. Role: PI.
- 2017–18, The Politics of Forced Migration in the Mediterranean: Interstate Bargaining and Issue-Linkage in Greece and Jordan. Funded by: British Academy & The Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grant. Role: PI
- 2016–17, Unpacking the Sending State: Regimes, Institutions and Non-state Actors in Diaspora and Emigration Politics. Funded by: International Studies Association Venture Research Grant. Role: Co-PI.
Supervision
I welcome potential doctoral students who are interested in my areas of expertise, namely:
- Migration diplomacy and the broader politics of cross-border mobility
- Refugee rentierism and forced migration governance
- Transnational authoritarianism and diaspora politics
- The politics and political economy of the Middle East
Previous PhD students (as primary, or co-supervisor) include:
- Piazzese, Giovanni (2018–22)
The Evolution of the Egyptian State's Emigration Policy: Transforming Neglect into Engagement
- Alshamsi, Reem (2017–21)
Implementation of the International Standards for Countering Terrorist Financing in Different National Contexts
- Wu, Wen-Yu (2017–21)
Waiting, Hopes and Futures: Experiences in Accessing Higher Education for Displaced Students from Syria in Lebanon and Jordan
- Mustafa, Ziad Abu Attiya (2015–18)
The Causes of Palestinian Disunity, 1993-2014
Currently, I am supervising the following PhD students:
- Al Khulaifi, Sultan Abdalrahmn S M
Qatari Foreign Policy & The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict : A Constructivist Understanding - Hoppermann, Judith
Theorising the International Politics of Refugee Returns – Actors, Diplomacy, and the State in Lebanon - Malit Jr, Froilan Tuccat
TBC
Teaching
Teaching Recognition
- Highly Innovative Teaching Award, Students' Representative Council – University of Glasgow (shortlisted, 2022)
- Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2021)
- Director's Teaching Prize – SOAS, University of London (2015)
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2021: International Studies Association – ENMISA Emerging Scholar Award
- 2020: British International Studies Association – L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize (short-listed)
- 2020: International Studies Association – ENMISA Distinguished Book Award
- 2017: International Studies Association – Martin O. Heisler Award for Best Graduate Paper
- 2016: American Political Science Association – Best Dissertation Prize (Migration & Citizenship)
- 2015: Middle East Studies Association of North America – Best Graduate Student Paper Prize
Research fellowships
- 2019 - 2020: Harvard University – Center for European Studies, Visiting Fellowship
- 2023 - 2023: Migration Research Center at Koç University (MiReKoc), Visiting Fellowship
Grant committees & research advisory boards
- 2023: UKRI, Talent Peer Review College
- 2023: Gulf Labour Markets, Migration and Population (GLMM), Advisory Board
Editorial boards
- 2020 - Present: Comparative Migration Studies
- 2020 - Present: Migration Politics
Professional & learned societies
- 2020 - 2023: Trustee (elected), Council for British Research in the Levant
- 2017 - 2021: Treasurer (elected, two consecutive two-year terms), International Studies Association – Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration Studies Section
- 2023 - 2025: Chair, International Studies Association – Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration Studies Section
Additional information
Invited Talks
- 2023, Migration Diplomacy as a Three-Level Game in Greek-Turkish Relations; European Institute – London School of Economics & Political Science
- 2023, Behind the headlines: Migration diplomacy and the 2023 elections in Greece and Turkey (panelist); Swedish Institute of International Affairs
- 2023, European Migration Management in the Eastern Mediterranean (panelist); Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- 2022, Politicised Migration and the Politics of Asylum (panelist); Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum – University of Cambridge
- 2021, Management of Forced Migration in the Global South (panelist); Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs – Syracuse University
- 2020, The Refugee Rentier State in the Global South; Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy – King’s College London
- 2020, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; Middle East Centre – London School of Economics & Political Science
- 2020, Egypt and the Politics of Migration in the Mediterranean; Amsterdam Centre for European Studies – University of Amsterdam
- 2020, Refugees, Migration and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa (panelist); Migration Policy Centre – European University Institute
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; Elliott School of International Affairs – George Washington University
- 2019, Syria, Forced Displacement, and the Rise of Refugee Rentierism; Center for European Studies – Harvard University
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies – New York University
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; Marist College
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; University of Pittsburgh
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; Boston University
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- 2019, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt; Macmillan Center for International and Area Studies – Yale University
- 2019, Migration and Authoritarianism in Egypt; University of Liverpool
- 2017, Diasporas as Soft Power; Center for Migration and Refugee Studies – The American University in Cairo
- 2017, Migration Diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean; Sijal Institute in Amman, Jordan
- 2016, Agents of Nationalism: The Arab Cold War & The Politics of Egyptian Migration; Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies – SOAS, University of London
Media Interviews & Coverage
- 2023, Jackson, L. ‘Tunisia’s Influence in Europe.’ The New York Times.
- 2023, Hindrichs, B. and A. Doran. ‘Refugees as a Commodity is the New Normal’ [in German]. Krautreporter.
- 2021, ‘Repressive Regimes are Tightening their Grip on their Citizens Abroad.’ The Economist.
- 2019, 'New Texts Out Now: Gerasimos Tsourapas, The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt: Strategies for Regime Survival in Autocracies'. Jadaliyya.
