Erin McCandless (Ph.D.) is a distinguished scholar, policy advisor and institution-builder with three decades of experience working to advance inclusive and sustainable political settlements, and nexus-based approaches to address conflict, fragility, humanitarian and environmental crisis and inclusive development in 25 countries across continents.
Professor Erin McCandless is currently Acting Director of the Qatar-South Africa Centre for Peace and Intercultural Understanding at the University of Johannesburg. In 2024 she served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Value at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in Doha, and she continues to serve as Senior Associate with the Global Institute for Strategic Research (Doha). A seasoned academic and policy advisor with three decades experience in 25 countries, her current research explores rising complexity in conflict-crisis contexts, the role of emerging and non-Western actors in mediation and sustaining peace, principled movements for a just international order, and climate in the humanitarian- development-peace nexus. Her expertise includes leading multi-stakeholder applied research, conducting trainings, and facilitating strategy, visioning and policy processes with UN agencies, international organizations, civil society and activists. As co-founder and long-time Chief Editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, she has served to elevate global south voices in academic and policy discourses. Professor McCandless is a widely published author a sought-after speaker; more on her work can be found below: