Niheer Dasandi

Niheer Dasandi is a Professor of Global Politics and Sustainable Development at the School of Government, University of Birmingham. He holds a PhD in Political Science from University College London (2013), following an MSc in International Public Policy (2006) and BSc in Mathematics with Economics (2005), also from UCL. Prior to his current role, he worked at the UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006–2009) and served as a postdoctoral researcher at UCL's Developmental Leadership Program (2013–2016).

• Research Focus: Human rights and development, climate change health impacts, international development aid politics, and foreign policy analysis.
• Leadership Roles: Co-Chair of Lancet Countdown's Public and Political Engagement Working Group, co-lead of Europe's Politics and Governance Working Group.

His research employs mixed methods including survey data, network analysis, and NLP. Key projects include the UN General Debate Corpus (tracking state preferences via speeches), CATALYSE (EU-funded climate health policy work), and studies on public attitudes toward human rights violations. He has been funded by the British Academy, ESRC, Wellcome Trust, and others. Notable publications include Is Democracy Failing? (2018) and articles in The Lancet, Journal of Peace Research, and World Development.

Scientific Awards: British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award (2018).

Advising & Grants: Supervises doctoral candidates Jasmine Burnley, Emi Nishihata, and Giulio Di Pinto. Projects funded by Horizon Europe, Wellcome Trust, and British Academy address climate policy, aid ethics, and UK-Africa policy dynamics.

Labs/Teams: Leads policy engagement work in the Lancet Countdown and CATALYSE initiatives. Collaborates with institutions like UCL and European public health networks.