Professor Emma Mawdsley

Emma Mawdsley is a Professor in Human Geography at the University of Cambridge, where she is a member of the Geographies of Knowledge Research Group. She is also a Fellow of Newnham College, and the Director of the Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies at Newnham.                                 

Emma’s research is on the politics of global development. She has a particular interest in South-South Cooperation, and especially India’s development discourses, partnerships and agendas. She also works on the UK’s changing aid and development agendas, which is making for an interesting ride. Building on these, her work explores the changing landscape of global development, particularly around the shift in emphasis from aid to development finance, and the associated financialisation of development.

Emma is PI on a large ESRC project looking at the role of the for-profit sector in development, in the form of consultants and contractors. Co-Is on the project are Paul Gilbert (Susex), Jo-Anna Russon (Nottingham), Jessie Sklair (QMUL) and Brendan Whitty (UEA). Olivia Mason is, and Sarah Hughes-McLure will be, working as Postdoctoral Researchers.