I am a Senior Researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability in Bonn, Germany. My research focuses on the role of technology and digitalization and social cohesion in migration and forced displacement processes, covering both developing country contexts, including work with urban migrants in Bogota, Nairobi, and Kuala Lumpur, as well as the role of digitalization in changing patterns of how high-income workers move between industrialized countries. My work also includes doing policy advice with partners such as UNHCR, the EU Commission, and German Government. I also teach a regular course on digitalization and global politics at Heidelberg University’s Institute for Political Research.

I’m an affiliated researcher with the International Security and Development Center, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University during the 2016-17 academic year. During my PhD I was a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow, advising the Samoan Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on disaster response and crisis prevention policy.

Outside academia I have consulted for UNHCR and the World Bank, and worked with TechChange Inc and the U.S. Institute of Peace on peacebuilding, training and technology programs.

I earned my PhD at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in August 2016, and hold a MA and BA from American University in Washington, D.C.

You can follow me on Twitter here: @cmartinshields