Laura J. Shepherd

Laura J. Shepherd is a Professor of International Relations in the Discipline of Government and International Relations, School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, where she leads the Gender Security research program. She earned her PhD in Politics/International Relations from the University of Bristol in 2006 with a thesis titled 'The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls: A Feminist Reconceptualisation of (International) Security and (Gender) Violence,' awarded without correction. She also holds an MSc in Gender and International Relations (2002) and an MSc in Research Methods (2003), both from the University of Bristol with commendation, a Postgraduate Certificate of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from the University of Birmingham (2007-2009, highly commended), and a BA (Hons) in Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex (1999, 2:1). Her career includes positions as Associate Professor of International Relations at UNSW Sydney (2013-2017), where she served as Deputy Head of School (Learning & Teaching) (2012-2017) and Senior Lecturer (2011-2013); Lecturer in International Relations and International Law at the University of Birmingham (2006-2010), including Head of Academic Programmes and Director of Learning and Teaching Strategy (2009-2010); and current Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security (2016-present). She was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow from 2018 to 2022.

Shepherd's research focuses on feminist International Relations, gender politics, security, and peacebuilding, particularly the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Her influential monographs include Narrating the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Logics of Global Governance (Oxford University Press, 2021), Gender, Peacebuilding and the Politics of Space: Locating Legitimacy (Oxford University Press, 2017), Gender, Violence and Popular Culture: Telling Stories (Routledge, 2013), and Gender, Violence and Security: Discourse as Practice (Zed Books, 2008). She co-authored Civil Society, Care Labour, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Making 1325 Work (Routledge, 2021). Select articles comprise 'The paradox of prevention in the Women, Peace and Security agenda' (European Journal of International Security, 2020), 'Women, Peace and Security: Mapping the (Re)Production of a Policy Ecosystem' (Journal of Global Security Studies, 2020, with Paul Kirby), and 'Gender and countering violent extremism in Women, Peace and Security national action plans' (European Journal of Politics and Gender, 2020, with Doris Asante). Her work garners over 7,000 citations on Google Scholar. Major honors include the International Studies Association Feminist Theory and Gender Studies Book Prize (2019), British International Studies Association Susan Strange Book Prize (2018), and Australian Political Studies Association Carole Pateman Book Prize (2019), all for Gender, Peacebuilding and the Politics of Space; International Studies Association Ladd Hollister Service Award (2021); ARC@UNSW Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision (2015); and University of Birmingham Award for Excellence in Teaching (2010).

Professional Email: laura.shepherd@sydney.edu.au