Oliver Belcher

Oliver Belcher is an Associate Professor in Human Geography at Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs. His research examines the intersections of political theory, geography, and global environmental politics, with special focus on military environmental impacts and technological dimensions of American imperialism. He holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia (2014), MA (2007) and BA (2005) from the University of Kentucky.

Belcher leads major research projects including the ESRC-funded 'Hidden Carbon Costs of Global US Military Operations' (2021-2023) investigating military emissions, and a British Academy-funded study on 'Military Carceral Logics from Vietnam to Afghanistan'. His work analyzes carbon footprints of military operations, counterinsurgency technologies, and geopolitical ecology.

His publications demonstrate consistent focus on military-environmental relationships, spanning carbon accounting in conflict zones, historical analysis of Vietnam War technologies, and critical geopolitics. Recent works emphasize climate impacts of military logistics and supply chains, while earlier scholarship examined counterinsurgency doctrines and spatial politics of occupation.

Awards:

• Mahoney Prize (2020) for computing history research
• Virginie Mamadouh Outstanding Research Award (2019)

Research Grants:

• ESRC: £299,989.30 (2021) for military environmental footprint study
• British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship: £113,348.56 (2020)
• British Academy Small Grant: £8,970 (2018)

Belcher collaborates with Queen Mary University and Lancaster University's Environmental Centre on military emissions research. He currently supervises PhD candidate Anna Okada and serves on the editorial board of Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space.