Professor Gerasimos Tsourapas was conferred to the Fellowship of the Academy in autumn 2025. He is the 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of International Relations at the University of Birmingham, and a 2025–26 Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute.
Professor Gerasimos TsourapasFAcSS SFHEA
Gerasimos is Editor-in-Chief of Migration Studies (Oxford University Press) and leads an ERC-funded project on migration diplomacy, examining how states use human mobility in international politics. His research also spans refugee politics, transnational authoritarianism, and the securitisation of migration, with a comparative focus that bridges Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and the broader Global South.
Gerasimos is the author of The Politics of Migration in Modern Egypt (Cambridge University Press) and Migration Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa (Manchester University Press). His contributions have been recognised with awards and elected leadership roles in international professional associations, including the International Studies Association, the American Political Science Association, and the Middle East Studies Association.
Previously Professor of International Relations at the University of Glasgow, Gerasimos has held visiting positions at Harvard University, the London School of Economics, Koç University, the American University in Cairo, and the National University of Singapore. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Henry J. Leir Institute, Tufts University. His research is regularly cited in global media such as The Economist, the BBC, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and he has advised organisations including the OSCE, OECD, and IOM. He is committed to combining rigorous comparative research with teaching excellence and public engagement.
Why do the social sciences matter?
Social science is the study of how people organise life together: institutions, incentives, norms, and power. For me, it is a disciplined way to ask better questions and to test answers against real-world evidence. At a time when public debate is saturated with opinion and misinformation, the clarity and rigour of the social sciences are urgently needed: providing the frameworks that allow societies to understand themselves and to navigate choices with greater confidence.
What inspires you about your work?
What sustains me is the constant opportunity to connect ideas with practice. I enjoy tracing how migration shapes international politics, but also translating those findings into forms that matter to students, policymakers, and wider publics. The comparative element is especially rewarding, since it allows me to test assumptions across regions and contexts. Just as important is the human side: I take great satisfaction from teaching and mentoring, and from seeing the next generation of scholars and practitioners develop their own questions and voices.
What is the most urgent issue social scientists need to tackle today and within the next three years?
We face an urgent need to understand how mobility intersects with geopolitical rivalry, climate change, and new forms of disinformation. These forces combine to test the resilience of societies and to put pressure on international cooperation. Social scientists must contribute evidence-based analysis that helps policymakers design durable, rights-respecting responses to migration and displacement. Beyond migration, the task is also to safeguard the role of knowledge itself in democratic debate, which is increasingly vulnerable to distortion.
What does being a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences mean to you?
It is both an honour and a responsibility. On one level, it is recognition from peers for the value of my work. On another, it is a mandate to advocate for the role of rigorous, public-minded social science in shaping debate and improving policy. For me, the Fellowship reinforces the idea that research should not remain confined within academia but must inform, challenge, and strengthen wider society.