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Dr Colin Walch
Associate Senior Researcher
Dr Colin Walch
Dr Colin Walch is an Associate Senior Researcher within SIPRI’s Peace and Development research area, specializing in climate security, disaster risk reduction and resilience. He bridges academia, policy and practice on issues related to humanitarian assistance, social protection, resilience and crisis management. His current work explores social protection as a practical link between humanitarian, development, and peace efforts. Colin regularly advises multilateral organizations and research institutes on disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. He is an affiliated researcher at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University.
Over the past six years, Colin has worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a Head of Office, Policy Adviser and Protection Delegate in several countries affected by armed conflict. He previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and holds a PhD from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research from Uppsala University.
Subject expertise
Climate Security; Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation; Shock-Responsive Social Protection; Resilience; International Humanitarian Law (IHL); Humanitarian Negotiations; Crisis Management.
Regional expertise
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mali, Colombia, The Philippines, Ukraine and Somalia.
CONTACT Dr Colin Walch
Languages
French; English; Spanish
Education
PhD, Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University; MA, Conflict Resolution, University of Bradford. MA/BA, International Relations, Free University of Brussels.
External publications
- Walch, C. (2023) Supporting social protection: five considerations for a principled humanitarian approach, Humanitarian Law and Policy, 8 July 2023.
- Walch, C. (2022) Too partial to work? Informal institution in the midst of climate change and armed conflict in Central Mali, African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 21(2), 101–126.
- Walch, C. (2020) Deprived of Freedom: How detainees in conflict zones could benefit from a “Triple Nexus’ approach? Humanitarian Law and Policy, 9 July 2020.
- Walch, C. (2019) Why should development actors engage with Non-State Armed groups? The Global Observatory, 21 March 2019.
- Walch, C. (2019) Adaptive governance in the developing world: disaster risk reduction in the State of Odisha, India. Climate and Development, 11(3):238–252.
- Walch, C. et al. (2019) The Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction as a vehicle for conflict prevention: Attainable or tenuous? Contributing paper to the UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction.
- Walch, C. et al. (2019) Disaster risk reduction strategies: Navigating conflict contexts. ODI Working paper 555.
- Walch, C. (2018) Weakened by the storm: rebel group recruitment in the wake of natural disasters in the Philippines, Journal of Peace Research, 53(3):336-350.
- Walch, C. (2018) Disaster Risk Reduction amidst armed conflict: informal institutions, rebel groups, and wartime political orders. Disasters 42(1):239-264.
- Walch, C. (2018) Typhoon Haiyan: pushing the limits of resilience? The effect of land inequality on resilience and disaster risk reduction policies in the Philippines. Critical Asian Studies 50(1):125-35.
- Walch, C. (2016) Rethinking Ripeness theory: Explaining Progress and Failure in Civil War Negotiations in the Philippines and Colombia, International Negotiation, 21(19):75-103.
- Walch, C. (2015) Expertise and policy making in disaster risk reduction, Nature Climate Change, June 2015.
- Walch, C. (2014) Collaboration or obstruction? Rebel group behavior during natural disaster relief in the Philippines, Political Geography, 43(1):40-50.