Dr Monalisa Adhikari

Senior Lecturer

Politics Stirling

Dr Monalisa Adhikari

Contact details

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http://www.stir.ac.uk/people/monalisaadhikari

About me

I am a Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Stirling. I am a leading researcher on the engagement of non-Western powers in the global governance of peace and security agenda, and the political transitions in conflict-affected contexts in South and Southeast Asia. I have conducted field work in India, China, Japan, Myanmar and Nepal. I am currently working on: i) Troop Contributing Countries and their domestic engagement with UN peacekeeping norms; ii) citizen perceptions on the peace and political transition in Myanmar and Nepal; iii) localised peace agreements and their adoption of liberal norms; and iv) international infrastructure financing as a new arena of global competition.

Currently, I am a Co-Investigator of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceREP) project based at the University of Edinburgh where I lead the work on Myanmar. Additionally, I lead a separate FCDO-funded policy initiative called the Study Group on Myanmar which brings together domestic parties and international supporters/ friends of Myanmar to review, assess, and coordinate comparative learning on key issues facing Myanmar.

Prior to coming to Stirling, I worked at the University of Keele and Edinburgh. I also bring several years of experience of working in International Development, including for organisations like the Asia Foundation, the FIA Foundation, London, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, India, and Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council.

My book manuscript-Post Liberal Conflict Management: Indian and Chinese engagement in peacebuilding- is forthcoming (with Cornell University Press, 2026). I was a Fellow at the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Japan in 2022. Following my research in Japan, I am currently co-authoring a book manuscript on Japan's peacebuilding engagement. I was also a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Myanmar Studies, Sichuan University, China in 2017/2018. In 2025/26, I am a Visiting Faculty at Kathmandu University, Nepal

I serve as the Associate Editor for Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.

Award

Civil Society Scholars Award

Awarded by the Open Society Foundation to pursue research in Myanmar

Visiting Fellow- Waseda University

Other Project

Daiwa Foundation- Small grant, Principle Investigator

A small grant to research on Japan's peacebuilding role in Asian conflict-affected states with partners from Waseda University, Tokyo.

Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceREP), Co-Investigator

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, Principle Investigator

Outputs (31)

Policy Document

The Role of Domestic Actors in China’s International Conflict Management

Adhikari M (2023) The Role of Domestic Actors in China’s International Conflict Management. Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform. Edibburgh. https://peacerep.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mariani-Adhikari-Zhou-2023-PeaceRep-Report-The-Role-of-Domestic-Actors-in-Chinas-International-Relations-compr.pdf

Book Review

All roads lead north: China, Nepal and the contest for the Himalayas

Adhikari M (2022) All roads lead north: China, Nepal and the contest for the Himalayas. Review of: All roads lead north: China, Nepal and the contest for the Himalayas. By Amish Raj Mulmi. London: Hurst. 2021. 328pp. ISBN: 9781787385399. International Affairs, 98 (6), pp. 2187-2189. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiac238

Other

Myanmar’s Twin Transitions: Challenges and Choices

Adhikari M (2017) Myanmar’s Twin Transitions: Challenges and Choices. Political Settlements Research Programme. University of Edinburgh. https://peacerep.org/2017/08/31/myanmars-twin-transitions-challenges-and-choices/