Japheth Wilson

Japheth Wilson is a Lecturer in International Political Economy at the University of Manchester, with a focus on the entanglement of space, power, and ideology in development politics. He holds a PhD in International Politics from Manchester (2009) and has held positions including Teaching Fellow (2009-2011) and Hallsworth Research Fellow (2011-2013). From 2014-2016, he worked as Research Coordinator at CENEDET in Quito, Ecuador.

• PhD: International Politics, University of Manchester (2009)
• MA: International Relations, University of Manchester (2006)
• BA: Philosophy, University of Cambridge (1998)

His research spans three core areas: 1) Contested spatial production in southern Mexico (PhD work), 2) Philanthrocapitalism in sub-Saharan Africa (postdoc), and 3) Post-neoliberal utopias in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's theories, he analyzes contradictions in global capitalist spatial imaginaries.

Wilson's recent publications examine apocalyptic urban surrealism (2022), insurgent universality on extractive frontiers (2022), and Anthropocene spatial absurdities (2024). These works connect to UN SDG themes including reduced inequalities and responsible consumption.

Scientific Recognition

• ESRC 1+3 Award (2005)
• Hallsworth Research Fellowship (2011)
• Newton Fellowship grant (2016)
• Jose Peralta Award nomination (2017)

He contributes to academic networks like Latin American Geographies in the UK (2018-present) and has delivered invited talks on anti-methodology (2017) and counter-intuitive geographies (2017).