Ian Madison is an LSE Fellow and Co-Director of the International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies programme at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he teaches modules on humanitarianism and forced migration. His research focuses on the politics of non-state actors, resilience, and public service delivery during periods of conflict or natural disaster. Ian holds a PhD in International Development from the University of Oxford and an MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the LSE.
Ian’s research agenda seeks to understand how people adapt and respond to political and environmental crises in fragile states. Drawing on fieldwork in Kosovo, his PhD examines how people navigate between competing ‘parallel state’ authorities during conflict, with a focus on three public services closely tied to statebuilding: education, healthcare, and justice. In a follow-up project in Tanzania, he examines how people living in informal settlements have adapted community-based financial institutions to better cope with increased flooding. His current research explores how COVID-19 impacted quasi-state authorities in contested territories and how the politics of information and rumour shape large-scale migration events. Beyond academia, Ian has worked on issues related to resilience, natural resources, conflict, and community engagement for the World Bank, NGOs, government, and private sector.
