Gernot Klantschnig

Gernot Klantschnig joined the University of Bristol in 2019. He previously worked at the Universities of York and Nottingham (China campus). He completed his doctorate in Politics at Oxford with a thesis on Nigeria’s role in the international trade and control of illegal drugs. This research has been the basis for several books and articles on the politics and history of drugs and crime, policing and health in Africa, and has been supported by funding bodies, such as the British Academy and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Gernot’s current research explores three related areas:
(1) Pharmaceuticals and their Regulation in the Global South. He has recently completed a project on the politics of ‘fake prescription drugs’ in Nigeria and a project on China’s growing economic and political engagement with Africa in the pharmaceutical sector. He continues working and publishing in this area.
(2) Cannabis Africana. With colleagues in Bristol and Cape Town, Gernot is also working towards a modern history of cannabis use, trade and control in Africa, which will culminate in a monograph. An important aspect of this work is an ESRC project exploring cannabis’s role as an ‘illicit livelihood’ and its impact on socio-economic development in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
(3) Politics of Organised Crime and Drugs. He continues researching and publishing on the politics of illegal drugs, organised crime and policing and recently completed an ESRC project on the 'Hidden Narratives of Organised Crime in West Africa.'