Emma Murphy
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Emma Murphy is a postdoctoral research associate with the Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland and the Peace Accords Matrix in the Kroc Institute. Her current project supports the Legacy Project, which preserves and engages the digital archive of the Colombian Truth Commission, in understanding the lessons the Colombian peace process holds for Ireland.
Dr. Murphy earned her PhD in Politics and International Relations from University College Dublin, where she was an Irish Research Council Laureate Award-affiliated fellow. Her PhD focused on identifying and understanding an alternative to liberal approaches in transitional justice design in Colombia, Northern Ireland, and Uganda. This alternative, agonistic transitional justice, centers on creating avenues within transitional justice institutions for engaging in contestation and encouraging multiplicity rather than focusing on consensus in the post-conflict space. She holds an MPhil in Politics and International Relations from the University of Cambridge and a BA in Politics and East Asian Studies from Mount Holyoke College.
Her work has been published in Third World Quarterly, Cooperation and Conflict, and Peacebuilding. Her most recent article, ‘Gender as an analytic lens for agonistic peace: insights from Colombia’s Truth Commission,’ uses the case of the Colombian Truth Commission to argue for the necessity of including a focus on gender in agonistic transitional justice design. She is currently developing a book proposal based on her doctoral research into agonistic transitional justice. Dr. Murphy has presented her work at a variety of international conferences, including the International Studies Association Annual Convention, the European Consortium for Political Research General Conference, and the Conflict Research Society Annual Conference. She has previously served as a teaching fellow at University College Dublin, where she taught courses on egalitarian theory and transitional justice.