Dennis Rodgers

Dennis Rodgers serves as University Professor and Excellence Research Chair at Aix-Marseille University, France, based in the MESOPOLHIS laboratory (UMR 7064 AMU-CNRS-Sciences Po Aix). He concurrently holds a Faculty Associate position at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) of the Geneva Graduate Institute. His scholarly focus centers on urban conflict dynamics and gang-related violence across Latin America, South Asia, and Europe.

Rodgers' research examines how political marginalization, economic precarity, and spatial segregation fuel urban violence through longitudinal ethnographic engagement. His fieldwork spans Nicaragua, Argentina, India, France, and Switzerland, emphasizing methodological innovation in high-risk contexts. Key contributions include reframing gang phenomena as embedded in broader socio-political transformations rather than pathological deviations.

His extensive publication record reveals consistent thematic evolution from localized gang studies toward global comparative frameworks. Recent works like Ethnography as Risky Business (2019) pioneer reflexive approaches to fieldwork ethics, while articles in Journal of Peace Research and Theory, Culture & Society demonstrate interdisciplinary reach spanning political anthropology, urban sociology, and critical criminology.

Rodgers secured significant funding including a European Research Council Advanced Grant for the "Gangs, Gangsters, and Ganglands" project (2019-2024), facilitating multi-sited ethnography across five continents. He co-leads "The Chicago School Re-considered" initiative, re-examining foundational urban sociology through archival research and collaborative ethnography.

Based at the MESOPOLHIS laboratory—a hub for historical and social sciences—he bridges European and Global South perspectives through trilingual fluency (English, French, Spanish). His CCDP affiliation at the Geneva Graduate Institute enables direct engagement with international peacebuilding policy communities.