Robert Smith

Robert is a Lecturer in International Relations at Coventry University. His research focuses on the theory and practice of statebuilding; contemporary Iraqi politics; counterinsurgency strategies in post-conflict environments; and British foreign policy during the Blair era. His PhD thesis looked at the US-led reconstruction of the Iraqi state following the invasion in 2003.

Ongoing research considers the development of the Iraqi state since regime change, with particular interest devoted to the Kurdistan Regional Government. He is currently writing with Mark Garnett and Simon Mabon (Lancaster University) a textbook on British Foreign Policy since 1945. He has taught International Relations at Lancaster University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He worked for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office within the Iraq Policy Unit in 2003-4, and recently operated as a political and security analyst based in Erbil, Kurdistan.

Research Areas:

Contemporary politics of the Middle East, especially Iraq
Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraqi Kurdish politics
Statebuilding and Nationbuilding
United States Foreign Policy
British Foreign Policy
Contemporary security issues and the “War on Terror;” Counterinsurgency
Human Rights.