Professor Michael Kerr is a historian and political scientist specialising in conflict resolution, peace processes and divided societies. His research focuses on Northern Ireland, Anglo-Irish relations, Lebanon and Syria, with particular interests in power-sharing, constitutional change, peace processes, and post-conflict reconciliation.

He is the author and co-editor of seven books on ethnic conflict, civil war and consociational democracy. He graduated from the University of Essex with a BA (Hons) in Political Science and from the London School of Economics and Political Science with an MSc in Government and a PhD in International History, where he subsequently held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship. Since joining KCL in 2008, he has served as Director of the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies and as Head of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. He has also advised governments and international organisations on power-sharing, democratisation and conflict resolution.

Professor Kerr is on research leave during the 2026–27 academic year, during which he is leading two externally funded research projects. The first, funded by the University of Notre Dame in collaboration with the ARINS programme at the Royal Irish Academy, examines how Brexit and more than twenty-five years of peace have reshaped Protestant attitudes towards constitutional change and Irish unity. Combining historical research with ethnographic fieldwork along the Irish border, the project explores how Northern Protestants understand questions of identity, belonging, reconciliation and constitutional futures. The research will form the basis of a new book on post-Brexit Ireland. The second project forms part of the RETURNEC programme, funded by the Research Council of Norway. Michael’s research examines how migration diplomacy and international cooperation shape the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon, with particular emphasis on the role of small-state diplomacy, international organisations and regional actors in developing inclusive, sustainable and rights-based approaches to refugee return in post-Assad Syria.

Teaching

Michael is Programme Director for the MA Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies. He has taught the contemporary history and international relations of the Middle East for more than twenty years, with particular interests in Lebanon and Syria.

MA

· 7SSWM156 Conflict and Coexistence in Divided Societies

· 7SSWM130 Power-Sharing Agreements in Deeply Divided Societies

BA

· 6SSW2041 Conflict and Security in the Middle East and North Africa

Recent Publications

Kerr, Michael. The Wounded and the Dead: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA Hunger Strikes, and the Northern Ireland Conflict. Oxford University Press, 2026.

Kerr, Michael. “The Falklands Factor: Sour Grapes and Cold Fury in Anglo-Irish Relations with Implications for the Northern Ireland Conflict.” The International History Review (2026): 1–16. DOI: 10.1080/07075332.2026.2628105.

Briffa, Hillary, Malcolm Murfett, Stephan Engelkamp, Elif Kalaycioglu, Maria Varaki, Ksenia Kirkham, Carmen Fulco, Michael Kerr, Craig Larkin and Paul McGarr. “War Studies on the Board of Peace: A New Perspectives Roundtable.” New Perspectives (2026). DOI: 10.1177/2336825X261477941.)

Gutkowski, Stacey, Craig Larkin and Michael Kerr. “Conflict Resolution in Deeply Divided Societies.” In An Introduction to War Studies. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024.