Steffen Bo Jensen

Steffen Bo Jensen is a Professor at the Department of Politics and Society, Aalborg University, affiliated with the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. He leads the Global Refugee Studies (GRS) Centre, MIX – Center for Displacement, Migration and Integration, and the Center for the Study of Coercion and Accountability. His research focuses on human rights, urban violence, gangs, radicalization, policing, and development policy. He advocates for a shift in criminal justice away from punitive approaches and emphasizes understanding everyday violence in urban contexts as significant in itself.

Key projects include RUV: Rethinking Urban Violence (2025–2028) funded by the European Research Council (ERC), which explores mechanisms of confinement, marginalization, and migration. Jensen’s work combines ethnographic methods with global comparative research, examining cases in South Africa, Nicaragua, France, Uganda, and Tunisia. He has secured €2.3 million in ERC funding for a project analyzing intersections of urban marginality, displacement, and incarceration.

Jensen’s media engagements include commentaries on police violence in the Philippines, gang dynamics in Marseille, and the implications of urban policies. His research has been featured in Current Anthropology, European Journal of Sociology, and The Conversation. He actively participates in policy dialogues and academic networks, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration to address systemic violence and inequality.