| Jonathan Luke Austin | |
| Education: | IHEID |
| Institutions: | University of Copenhagen |
| School Tradition: | International Relations, International Political Sociology, Pragmatist Sociology, Science and Technology Studies |
| Notable Ideas: | Humanitarian design; post-critique; compositionism; material-aesthetics; international political design and ergonomics; |
Jonathan Luke Austin is a sociologist and political scientist. Austin is currently a professor at the University of Copenhagen. He is also Director of the Centre for Advanced Security Theory at the same university. Previously he was Lead Researcher at the Geneva-based Violence Prevention (VIPRE) Initiative, hosted by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies,[1] where he is also a Visiting Professor. Austin has previously been based at the University of Copenhagen, the University of Ottawa, and the Orient-Institut Beirut.[2]
Austin is widely known for his work in the fields of International Political Sociology (security studies), critical security studies, and International Relations.
Theoretically, Austin has played a central role in reconsidering the status of critique in International Relations, mainly through his engagements with pragmatist sociologies, science and technology studies, and postcritique.[3] [4] [5] He has also been a key advocate for extending the ‘materialism’ of the practice of International Relations, suggesting social scientific practice must move beyond its present preoccupation with epistemic modes of inquiry.[6] [7]
Empirically, much of Austin's work has revolved around exploring the ontologies of political violence. This includes a significant research programme studying the conditions of possibility underlying torture, conducted through both secondary sources and the interviewing of perpetrators.[8] [9]
Practically, Austin is known for applying ‘high’ social theory to concrete international problems.[1] This is currently occurring through the application of material-semiotic social theories to the challenge of violence prevention.[10] For this work, Austin was nominated among the ‘faces of peace’ in recognition of his Peacebuilding activities by the University of Geneva and Geneva Peacebuilding Platform.[11]
Currently, Austin leads the Future of Humanitarian Design research project, based on his previous work in violence prevention.