Naomi Head

Naomi joined the politics dept in September 2010 after completing an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University. Prior to this, she received her PhD from the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds in 2007 where she was also appointed Lecturer in International Studies in 2008-9.

Her research focuses on the role of communication in conflict and the relationships between legitimacy, dialogue and empathy, and political violence. The empirical focus of her research has previously been the Balkans and the dynamics of the Security Council. She is currently working on a collaborative project concerning the role of dialogue, trust and empathy in the Iranian nuclear negotiations. She also convenes a network on ‘Trust, Dialogue and Empathy’ hosted by the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Conflict at the University of Birmingham where she is an Honorary Research Fellow.

Naomi's research interests include International Relations Theory/Critical Theory, Legitimacy and Communicative Ethics, Humanitarian intervention and the use of force, Conflict transformation, mediation and non-violence, Empathy in conflict