Dr Neil Loughlin

Overview

Dr. Neil Loughlin is Lecturer in Comparative Politics at City, University of London. He is also the Programme Director for BSc politics. Neil’s main research interests include authoritarian politics and the political economy of development.

Neil's s first monograph, provisionally titled: The Politics of Coercion: State and Regime Making in Cambodia since 1979, is under contract with Cornell University Press. He has published in journals such as Democratization, Third World Quarterly, and Journal of Contemporary Asia, on topics including post-conflict state-building, clientelism, authoritarian developmentalism, and the politics of land dispossession and resource extraction. Neil's new project focuses on how Chinese investment, including through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is being mediated by local political economy dynamics in recipient countries, shaping political and developmental outcomes.

Most of Neil's work has focused on the Southeast Asia region, where he previously worked for a number of local and international NGOs as a human rights worker and development professional. In this capacity he has consulted for organisations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). He has written or provided comment for various international news outlets such as The Observer, The Guardian, The Nikkei, Global Post, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia.

Neil currently convenes three modules: IP1030 Introduction to Politics; IP2053 Authoritarianism and Democracy in the 21st Century; IP2037 Comparative Asian Politics. Previously at City Neil has taught IP2033 Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics, and IP3017 Final Year Dissertation Project. He has also contributed to SAM005 Qualitative Research Methods in Sociology (postgraduate).

Before joining City, Neil was based at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), where he remains an Associate Fellow. He also convened and taught undergraduate and postgraduate modules in comparative authoritarianism and development at the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University. He has held fellowships at the University of Sydney and the University of Copenhagen. Neil completed his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London in 2019.

Expertise

Geographic Areas

• Asia - East
• Asia - Southeast

Publications by category