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I am Lecturer in International Relations, Research Director of the Conflict, Security & Development Research Group, and co-Chair of the Africa Research Group.

I joined the department in 2012 as Lecturer in International Relations, after completing my MA, MRes and PhD within the Department of War Studies (KCL). From 2007 I worked as a Research Fellow in the Conflict Security and Development Research Group (KCL), conducting extensive fieldwork in Sierra Leone for a study of reintegration. I also worked with a range of research and development organisations, including the International Policy Institute, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the United Nations Development Programme, and various risk intelligence consultancies.

My current research examines the causes and shaping dynamics of extreme violence during conflict, with a particular focus upon the role of emotions and psychology at both individual and group level. I am also interested in the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of combatants; post-conflict reconciliation processes; innovation and artistic expression by former combatants and street-gang members; and narcotics trafficking in West Africa. I have specialist area knowledge of Sierra Leone, West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa more broadly.

Atrocities and Violence in Civil War: Since 2008 I have conducted regular fieldwork in Sierra Leone to interrogate the various causes and shaping dynamics of extreme violence in conflict, examining the concept of brutalisation and the social psychology of violence. Taking a broad inter-disciplinary approach, I am especially interested in violence characterised as ‘irrational’ and the role played by the emotions of disgust and shame. My book, Rebels in a Rotten State: Understanding Atrocity in the Sierra Leone Civil War (2015, Hurst/Oxford University Press), draws on extensive interviews with perpetrators of violence to address the most seemingly ‘senseless’ acts of atrocity.

As part of a Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs –funded programme, based within the Conflict, Security and Development Research Group, I lead a newly established project that brings together leading international researchers from various academic disciplines to address the question of how we might better understand and tackle civil war atrocities. Further details will be made available here.

Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR): I am interested in the challenges faced in war-to-peace transitions, particularly with regard to the disarmament and reintegration of armed groups through both formal and informal processes. Since 2007 I have conducted a longitudinal study of Sierra Leone’s ex-combatants and their experience of DDR, giving particular attention to the neglected area of political integration. I have published a series of journal articles for this project, further details of which can be found on the Conflict, Security and Development Research Group page.  

Art & Innovation: Youth and Armed Gangs: In collaboration with colleagues, I am currently developing a multidisciplinary research project that examines the role played by young former members of street-gangs and armed groups in helping others move away from violence. The project will engage with individuals who have used creative expression, ranging from documentary film-making to hip-hop, to both articulate and transform their experiences as well as those of others. The project will itself produce a documentary film and is planned to cover and compare various contexts and groups, ranging from street-gangs in Brazilian favelas, London, and Cape Town, to ex-combatant groups in Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.

Narcotics Trafficking in West Africa: My research in this area seeks to assess and understand the impact that narcotics trafficking has or may have on West Africa, particularly with regard to the growth of trans-Atlantic cocaine trafficking through the region. Specific areas of focus are the linkages between corruption and cocaine trafficking in source and transit countries, the development of domestic drugs markets in transit countries, and the relationship between trans-Atlantic trafficking, violence, local criminal networks and armed (or ex-combatant) groups.

• Mitton, Kieran (2015) Rebels in a Rotten State: Understanding Atrocity in Sierra Leone (London: Hurst/Oxford University Press)

• Mitton, Kieran (2015) 'A Pragmatic Pact: Reconciliation and Reintegration in Sierra Leone', in Kirsten Ainley, Rebekka Friedman & Chris Mahony (eds) Evaluating Transitional Justice: Accountability and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone (London: Palgrave Macmillan)

• Mitton, Kieran (2013), ‘Where is the War? Explaining Peace in Sierra Leone’, International Peacekeeping, Vol. 30, Issue 3.

• Mitton, Kieran (2012), ‘Irrational Actors and the Process of Brutalisation: Understanding Atrocity in the Sierra Leonean Conflict (1991–2002)’, Civil Wars, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2012.

• Mitton, Kieran (2010), ‘Rearmament, Remobilisation and Disintegration in Sierra Leone’, Conflict Security and Development Research Group, King's College London, 2010.  

• Mitton, Kieran (2009), 'Engaging disengagement: The political reintegration of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front' in Reintegrating Armed Groups after Conflict: Politics, Violence and Transition, Mats Berdal & David Ucko, eds. (Abingdon: Routledge, May 2009).

• Mitton, Kieran (2009), 'Reconstructing Trust in Sierra Leone.' The Round Table, Volume 98, Issue 403, August 2009.  

• Mitton, Kieran (2008), ‘Engaging Disengagement: The Political Reintegration of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front.’ Conflict, Security and Development, Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2008.  

My publications are available on the Research Portal

I presently teach the following MA courses:

• 7SSWM140 Conflict, Security and Development.
• 7SSWM069 Approaches to Understanding Violence and Atrocity in Civil Wars.

• 7SSWM171 Comparative Civil Wars
• 7SSWM071 Gender in International Politics and Security

I am happy to consider supervision in the following areas:

• Conflict, security and development in Africa
• Violence (war and post-war)
• Social dynamics of armed groups
• Reconciliation and transitional justice
• DDR
• Trafficking and organised crime in Africa

I have specific area expertise in Sierra Leone and the West Africa region. I regularly consult with international development, governmental and non-governmental organisations on a range of issues related to conflict, security and development in Africa. I have provided briefings to NGOs, governments, diplomatic and military personnel, global risk consultancies and various international organisations operating in sub-Saharan Africa. I have also provided commentary on contemporary political developments in West Africa to international broadcast and print media.