Dr. Abdul Kadir Khan is a postdoctoral researcher in Development Studies affiliated with the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He is a recipient of the "Kone Foundation" postdoctoral research grant, which supports his project “Trapped in Climate Fragility: Sustainability Transformations Across the Humanitarian–Development–Peace (HDP) Nexus in Protracted Humanitarian Crises.”
Dr. Khan recently defended his article-based doctoral dissertation titled “Localization of Humanitarian Action: Exploring the Views of Organizations Involved in the Rohingya Response in Bangladesh.” His research critically examines the localization of humanitarian action, humanitarian space, and the role of local actors in protracted displacement contexts, with a particular focus on the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh.
His current postdoctoral research advances the emerging concept of a climate–Humanitarian–Development–Peace (climate-HDP) nexus. Using the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh as a case study, the project investigates how climate-induced vulnerabilities—such as land degradation, environmental stress, resource scarcity, and localized social conflicts—intersect with humanitarian and development interventions to reinforce fragility and environmental degradation. Drawing on sustainability transformations and planetary boundaries frameworks, the research explores climate-sensitive, localized HDP pathways for resilience, environmental peacebuilding, and mitigation of the “climate fragility trap.”
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 informs his work on humanitarian governance, forced displacement, climate fragility, and peacebuilding in the Global South.
Dr. Khan is actively engaged in teaching and academic mentoring. He coordinates and teaches the Master’s-level course “Civil Society Organizations in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action” at the University of Jyväskylä, integrating theory and practice through simulations, practitioner engagement, and guest lectures by international scholars.
His peer-reviewed publications are open access and include:
Khan, A. K., & Kontinen, T. (2022). Impediments to localization agenda: Humanitarian space in the Rohingya response in Bangladesh.
Khan, A. K. (2023). Constrained humanitarian space in the Rohingya response: Views from Bangladesh.
Khan, A. K. (2024a). Envisioning the humanitarian–development–peace nexus in the Rohingya response in Bangladesh.
Khan, A. K. (2024b). A critical analysis of peaceful coexistence of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.
Khan, A. K., & Mannan, A. (2025). Unintended consequences of the localization agenda: Insights from the Rohingya humanitarian response in Bangladesh. Disaster Prevention and Management, 34(6), 68–82.
Dr. Khan welcomes collaborative research and policy-oriented partnerships on localization, climate fragility, humanitarian governance, and sustainable humanitarian–development–peace pathways in fragile and climate-vulnerable contexts
My research examines how climate change can be integrated into the humanitarian–development–peace nexus in protracted crises. Focusing on the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, I analyse climate-induced fragility, sustainability transformations, and localized pathways for resilience, environmental peacebuilding, and planetary boundaries.
