Nicholas Pope

Nicholas Pope is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at King’s College London, based in the Department of War Studies within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy. His current research focuses on the social and ecological risks of the green energy transition, particularly concerning critical mineral extraction in forest frontiers. He holds a PhD from SOAS University of London (2020), where his thesis examined militia groups’ roles in urban Brazil.

His research interests span geopolitics of critical minerals, environmental security, and the intersection of armed groups with resource exploitation. He employs mixed methods combining ethnographic fieldwork with AI-driven data analysis. Nicholas has engaged in policy design across Latin America, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

• Member of King’s Brazil Institute and co-founder of the Environmental Security Research Group
• Lead researcher for the 'Green Transition Risks' project funded by the Leverhulme Foundation
• Previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at SOAS on the GCRF Drugs and Dis/order project

His work bridges academic research with practitioner engagement, addressing issues like ESG reporting in critical minerals and the psychosociology of climate justice. He has published in journals such as Urban Studies and Journal of International Development, alongside media contributions in Foreign Policy and BBC News.

Awards include the prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2020–present). Nicholas teaches courses on globalization, development, and Latin American studies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary global challenges.