Laura Mcleod

Laura Mcleod is a Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester and serves as the EDI Director for the Politics department. She is also a trustee of the British International Studies Association (BISA) and its EDI Officer. Her research focuses on gender, feminism, security, and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts, particularly the UN Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. She has published extensively in journals like the European Journal of International Relations and authored the book Gender Politics and Security Discourse (2016/2021).

Her teaching includes modules on Gender, War and Peace, and the Politics of (In)Security. Mcleod has supervised numerous PhD students researching topics such as UNSCR 1325’s impact in India, feminist anti-nuclear activism, and gender in Myanmar’s political transition. She has held research roles including a Research Associate on the ERC’s Understanding Institutional Change project and contributed to the editorial board of the International Feminist Journal of Politics.

Current research interests include feminist negotiations of peace in museums, UK WPS policy, and UN security indicators. Mcleod has secured grants from the British Academy and co-edited special issues in Peacebuilding and volumes on feminist peace studies. She actively engages in academic leadership, serving as an external examiner at the University of Limerick and Bath.