Abdul Khan

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Dr. Abdul Kadir Khan is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Development Studies at the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He is a recipient of a Kone Foundation postdoctoral research grant for his project, “Trapped in Climate Fragility: Sustainability Transformations Across the Humanitarian–Development–Peace (HDP) Nexus in Protracted Humanitarian Crises.”

Dr. Khan is an interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersection of humanitarian action, forced displacement, localization, climate fragility, sustainability transformations, and peacebuilding. His research examines how humanitarian, development, and peace interventions interact with local actors, institutions, communities, and environmental conditions in protracted crises, with a particular focus on fragile and climate-vulnerable contexts in the Global South.

His doctoral research focused on the localization of humanitarian action and the changing nature of humanitarian governance in protracted displacement settings. He recently defended his article-based doctoral dissertation, “Localization of Humanitarian Action: Exploring the Views of Organizations Involved in the Rohingya Response in Bangladesh.” Drawing on the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh, his doctoral research critically examined humanitarian space, the role and agency of local organizations, and the opportunities, constraints, and unintended consequences associated with the localization agenda.

Dr. Khan’s broader research agenda is concerned with how locally grounded and environmentally sustainable approaches can reshape humanitarian and development responses in contexts where displacement, climate vulnerability, environmental degradation, and conflict intersect. Through this work, he seeks to contribute to emerging debates on locally led humanitarian action, climate-sensitive peacebuilding, sustainability transformations, and the governance of protracted crises.

Originally from Bangladesh, Dr. Khan holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Political Science from the University of Dhaka, an MSc in International Development Studies from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), and an MPhil in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Oslo. His interdisciplinary academic training and research experience inform his work across humanitarian studies, development studies, peace and conflict research, and environmental sustainability.

Alongside his research, Dr. Khan is actively engaged in teaching and academic mentoring. At the University of Jyväskylä, he coordinates and teaches the Master’s-level course “Civil Society Organizations in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action.” His teaching combines conceptual and empirical perspectives with practice-oriented learning, including simulations, practitioner engagement, and guest lectures by international scholars.

Dr. Khan welcomes international research collaboration and policy-oriented partnerships on localization, humanitarian governance, forced displacement, climate fragility, sustainability transformations, environmental peacebuilding, and sustainable Humanitarian–Development–Peace pathways in fragile and climate-vulnerable contexts.