Jeff Handmaker

Dr. Jeff Handmaker is an Associate Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds external affiliations as a visiting scholar at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), an Editor of the South African Journal on Human Rights, and a former Fellow at Princeton University and NIAS-KNAW. His research focuses on legal mobilization's role in achieving structural social change, particularly in contexts of human rights and transitional justice in South Africa and Palestine.

Education: LLB (Newcastle University, 1992), LLM (SOAS, London, 1994), PhD in Sociology of Law (Utrecht University, 2009). His career spans legal practice (Dutch Refugee Council, Lawyers for Human Rights) and academic leadership, including co-founding the Legal Mobilization Platform and securing grants totaling €1.8M through the Erasmus Trust Fonds.

Research interests include international law, human rights accountability, and the intersection of law and social movements. Recent work addresses Palestinian rights via international legal mechanisms, as highlighted in his podcast series on Gaza and Israel-Palestine dynamics.

Awards include the NIAS-KNAW Fellowship (2020–21) and NWO-WOTRO funding. He actively engages in public discourse through media contributions and conferences on topics like healthcare in Gaza and Palestinian state recognition.