Tomaz Fares

Dr. Tomaz Fares is a Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of York. His research focuses on the political economy of rural China, global capitalism, and China's international relations, with particular attention to state-market dynamics and food regime analyses. He holds a PhD in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London, a master’s in Modern and Contemporary History of China from Peking University, and a bachelor’s in International Relations from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Tomaz’s research explores the power dynamics within Chinese agribusiness and challenges narratives of a unified Chinese political system, emphasizing class divergences and state strategies. He also examines China’s historical and contemporary relationships with Latin America, including Cold War diplomacy and current soy-meat trade partnerships. Key areas include state analyses, food security, and transnational capital flows.

His recent work investigates China’s global expansion through case studies like COFCO’s strategies in the Southern Cone and the environmental governance of Brazilian soy agribusiness. He has published in journals such as Review of International Political Economy, Journal of Agrarian Change, and Journal of Peasant Studies.

Tomaz supervises doctoral research on global food systems, such as the case of Egyptian wheat vulnerabilities. He is principal investigator on the ESRC-funded project The Environmental Governance of Brazilian Soy Agribusiness During Global Power Transition, examining the intersection of agribusiness and geopolitical shifts.