Richard Schofield

Richard Schofield is a Senior Lecturer in Boundary Studies at King’s College London’s Department of Geography, within the School of Global Affairs. He holds academic affiliations with King’s and previously contributed to SOAS (University of London) part-time. His work focuses on international boundaries, territorial policy in decolonization, and geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East. Schofield founded the journal Geopolitics (1996) and pioneered King’s MA programme in Geopolitics, Territory & Security (evolved from his earlier SOAS initiatives). He specializes in archival research on boundary disputes, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf.

Education: Began at SOAS and Durham University in the 1980s, followed by a master’s thesis on the Iran-Iraq Shatt al-Arab dispute. His career includes archival research for the Arabian Boundaries Project (1980s), establishing Durham’s International Boundaries Research Unit (1989), and full-time academic roles at SOAS.

Research interests span historical and contemporary territorial disputes, decolonization processes, island sovereignty geopolitics, and multi-disciplinary approaches to dispute resolution. His publications emphasize archival sources and legal frameworks, addressing cases like Iraq’s post-colonial borders and Persian Gulf territorial claims. He supervises PhD students on topics such as imperial boundary-making and emerging territorialities.

Key contributions include editing Geographic Realities in the Middle East and North Africa (2021) and co-authoring analyses on river boundary delimitation (e.g., 2022’s Water International article). His work often bridges historical analysis with modern geopolitical challenges, particularly in conflict-prone regions.