缅北禁地

I am a political geographer interested in military ecologies, weapons supply chains, the “aftermaths” and “beforemaths” of war, and the un/making of colonial space. My work addresses these themes in Palestine and Iraq where I study the spatial distribution of threat and the effects of militarism. I have published on house demolitions, military checkpoints, bureaucratic mechanisms, weapons manufacturing, and war-affected environments. Across my writing and teaching I draw on a range of post-/de-colonial geographical theories to better understand both the endurance and vulnerability of colonial power.

I joined the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology in 2019 as a NUAcT Research Fellow. Before joining 缅北禁地 I worked at the University of Oulu in Finland and Northumbria University. At Oulu I worked on , an Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence focused on the territorial politics of bordering, identities and transnationalisation. At Northumbria I worked in the Centre for International Development in the Department of Social Science. I completed my post-graduate studies at University College London and King's College London

I became an ERC Laureate in 2023 on the award of a European Research Council Starting Grant for the project: "War & Geos: the environmental legacies of militarism". The project is run as a collboration between 缅北禁地, Purdue University (USA), and the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON) in Palestine. For the period 2023-2028, most of my research resources are directed at better understanding the relations between war and the Earth through detailed study of sites in Palestine and Iraq. Information on the project is available here on our website:

I have additionally been engaged in better understanding the spatial effects of the occupation of Palestine. On projects funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme, I have published widely on checkpoints, house demolitions, and bureaucratic control (see publications list).

I am always keen to hear from prospective postgraduate students interested in these issues.

I teach on the postgraduate module GEO8028 Political Geographies of the Middle East

For prospective doctoral study and applications for ESRC (and AHRC) funding, please write to me directly. I currently supervise the following PhD candidates:

Ishraq Othman (NUAcT-funded) 'Life and death at Erez Checkpoint in Gaza, Palestine'

Zena Agha (ESRC-funded) 'Colonial Cartography in Palestine-Israel and the Decolonising Potential of Counter-Maps'

Daoud Ghoul (ESRC) 'Emerging geographies of Israeli occupation and Palestinian resistance in East Jerusalem'

Ichamati Mousamputri (ESRC) 'Spaces of informal militarism: Analysing violence, resistance, and militarism in contemporary India'

Omar Hmidat (ESRC) Necropolitics in Palestine: a socio-spatial analysis of practices of suspended death and grassroots resistance

Yunqi Chi (ESRC) Climate change and carceral border regimes

Anas Ismail (ESRC) Exploring the health and social impacts of therapeutic geographies of Palestinians traveling to Egypt and Jordan

Lamis Qdemat (ESRC) Military Occupation, Water Security, and Human Health: A Study of Palestinian human rights across differentiated West Bank space

Nadir Mauge (AHRC) In My Room: An Auto-Ethnographic Exploration of Palestinian Identity and Resilience in Bethlehem.

• Articles

  • Jones C, Mousamputri I, Griffiths M. . Political Geography 2026, 127, 103525.
  • Jones C, Mousampruti I, Griffiths M. Dual use as a political technology of contemporary military violence. Political Geography 2026.
  • Rubaii K, El-Shewy M, Griffiths M. . Political Geography 2025, 123, 103425.
  • Rubaii K, Griffiths M, Wells E, Specht A, Linday I, Alani S, Alrawi A. . Costs of War 2025.
  • El-Shewy M, Griffiths M, Jones C. . Antipode 2025, 57(1), 75-95.
  • Griffiths M. . Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2025, epub ahead of print.
  • Rubaii K, Griffiths M. . Human Organization 2025, 84(1), 56-68.
  • Griffiths M, Rubaii K. . Security Dialogue 2024, 18(2).
  • Griffiths M, Redwood H. . International Political Sociology 2024, 18(2), olae011.
  • Griffiths M, Mueni F, Baker K, Patel S. . Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space 2023, 6(4), 2340-2357.
  • Soares B, Franco A, Leal J, Lima R, Baker K, Griffiths M. . Area 2023, 55(4), 550-557.
  • Joronen M, Griffiths M. . Political Geography 2022, 98, 102734.
  • Griffiths M. . Progress in Human Geography 2022, 46(2), 282-298.
  • Griffiths M. . Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 2022, 40(8), 1643-1658.
  • Griffiths M, Berda Y, Joronen M, Kilani L. . Territory, Politics, Governance 2022, 121(7), 891-909.
  • Griffiths M, Brooks A. . Annals of the American Association of Geographers 2022, 112(6), 1761-1776.
  • Griffiths M, Repo J. . Security Dialogue 2021, 52(3), 249-265.
  • Joronen M, Tawil-Souri H, Amir M, Griffiths M. . Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 2021, 103(4), 277-282.
  • Griffiths M, Joronen M. . Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 2021, 103(4), 352-366.
  • Griffiths M, Repo J. . Antipode 2020, 52(4), 1104-1121.
  • Eichhorn M, Baker K, Griffiths M. . Frontiers of Biogeography 2020, 12(1), e44795.
  • Griffiths M, Baker K. . Area 2020, 52(2), 455-458.
  • Joronen M, Griffiths M. . Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 101 2019, 101(2), 69-83.
  • Joronen M, Griffiths M. . Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2019, 37(3), 561-576.
  • Griffiths M, Joronen M. . Gender, Place & Culture 2019, 26(2), 153-172.
  • Baker K, Eichhorn M, Griffiths M. . Biotropica 2019, 51(3), 288-292.
  • Griffiths M. . Geographical Journal 2018, 184(2), 115-124.
  • Baillie Smith M, Laurie N, Griffiths M. . The Geographical Journal 2018, 184(2), 158-168.
  • Griffiths M. . Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2018, 43(2), 299-311.
  • Griffiths M, Repo J. . Political Geography 2018, 65, 17-25.
  • Griffiths M. . Antipode 2017, 49(3), 617-635.
  • Griffiths M. . Area 2017, 49(1), 2-8.
  • Griffiths M, Brown E. . Social & Cultural Geography 2017, 18(5), 665-682.
  • Griffiths M. . Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 2017, 24(4), 398-416.
  • Griffiths M. . Tourist Studies 2015, 15(2), 205-221.
  • Griffiths M. . Emotion, Space and Society 2014, 11, 89-95.

• Authored Book

  • Griffiths M. . Minneapolis, MN, USA: University of Minnesota Press, 2025.

• Book Chapters

  • Griffiths M. . In: Griffiths, M; Joronen, M, ed. Encountering Palestine: Un/making Spaces of Colonial Violence. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2023, pp.97-121.
  • Griffiths M, Joronen M. . In: Griffiths, M; Joronen, M, ed. Encountering Palestine: Un/making Spaces of Colonial Violence. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2023, pp.1-19.

• Edited Book

  • Griffiths M, Joronen M, ed. . Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2023.

• Editorials

  • Rubaii K, Griffiths M. . Al Jazeera 2025.
  • Abuawad A, Griffiths M, Edwards G, Eftekhari A, Al-Ebweini M, Al-Najar H, Butmeh A, Abu Dayyeh R, El-Shewy M, Aker A. . American Journal of Public Health 2025, 115(7), 1053-1061.
  • Griffiths M, El-Shewy M. . The Conversation 2025.
  • Brooks A, Griffiths M. . Political Geography 2025, 122, 103387.
  • Jones C, Mousamputri I, Griffiths M. . Political Geography 2025, 114, 103188.
  • Agha Z, Esson J, Griffiths M, Joronen M. . Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2024, 49(2), e12675.
  • Brooks A, Griffiths M. . Political Geography 2024, 114, 103193.
  • Griffiths M, Hughes S, Mason O, Nassar A, Printy Currie N. . Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 2024, 45(1), 6-17.
  • Griffiths, M, Baker, K. Decolonising the spaces of geographical knowledge production: The RGS-IBG at Kensington Gore. 2020.