Matthew Abbey

Matthew Abbey is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Social Theory at Queen Mary University of London's School of Law. He holds a PhD from the University of Warwick, an MA from Sciences Po Paris, and a BA from Monash University. His postdoctoral work focuses on the UKRI-funded project examining AI's impact on democratic societies and human rights frameworks under Dr. Daragh Murray. Before academia, Abbey worked with UNDP, Human Rights Watch, and the Armenian Human Rights Ombudsman.

His research critically engages state violence, border politics, surveillance technologies, and queer migration. Key themes include the intersection of technology ethics with colonial legacies, and the socio-political function of fantasy in resisting dispossession. His media writing has appeared in The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and Le Monde Diplomatique.

Recent publications explore racialized climate migration militarization, machine learning's misreading of desire, and queer migrant performativity. His work bridges theory with activism through submissions to bodies like the International Criminal Court.

Current research projects emphasize technological governance's socio-political implications, particularly how AI systems interact with human rights frameworks in democratic contexts. He maintains strong connections to human rights advocacy through collaborative research and public engagement initiatives.