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Biography:

Jennifer M. Welsh is Distinguished James McGill Professor in Global Governance and Security at McGill University, and the Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy. She was previously Chair in International Relations at the European University Institute and Professor in International Relations at the University of Oxford, where she co-founded the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict. From 2013-2016, she served as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on the Responsibility to Protect. She currently sits as a member of the IDP Protection Expert Group, based in UNHCR and is an Executive Director of the Second Century Commission on Canada-US Relations.

Jennifer’s research has focused on contemporary challenges in global governance, conflict management, and Canadian foreign policy, including humanitarian action, the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and forced displacement. Her most recent academic books include three co-edited volumes: The Individualization of War: Rights, Liability and Accountability in Contemporary Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2023); Civilian Protective Agency in Violent Settings: A Comparative Perspective (Oxford University Press, 2023); and The Afterworld: Long Covid and International Relations (University of Ottawa Press, 2024). She has frequently provided input into policy initiatives for the Canadian government and the United Nations, as well as for international NGOs. She is also a leading public intellectual in Canada, through her CBC Massey Lectures (published as The Return of History: Conflict, Migration and Geopolitics in the 21st Century), her contributions to media, and her role as co-host of the bilingual podcast, Tour de Table. Jennifer co-chairs the Advisory Board of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the Committee on Security Studies for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her research and policy engagement have been recognized through her election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and as an International Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Jennifer has a BA from the University of Saskatchewan in Political Science, and a M.Phil. and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.