Chris Abbott

| Biography and CV

"Chris Abbott is a rising star of the peace and security field. Within a short time he has established himself as a distinctive and influential voice, capable of deep analysis, and the vision to drive this analysis home where it counts." Dr. John Sloboda, Oxford Research Group

Chris Abbott is a freelance writer and researcher specialising in international security and foreign affairs. He holds the honorary position of Sustainable Security Consultant to Oxford Research Group (ORG) and is perhaps best known for his work developing and promoting the sustainable security framework. His research interests include transnational and non-traditional security threats, alternative global security strategies and the national and international security implications of climate change.

Until June 2009, he was the Deputy Director of Oxford Research Group, one of Europe’s leading international security think tanks. Chris joined ORG in October 2003 and directed their Moving Towards Sustainable Security programme from September 2006 until June 2009 (and remains on the programme's International Advisory Board). During this time he founded SustainableSecurity.org, an innovative news and analysis website due for public launch later this year, and for which he is an Associate Editor. Throughout 2008, he was also an Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre for Governance and International Affairs at the University of Bristol and has been listed as an Expert at the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior in Madrid since mid-2006.

In addition to several influential reports, including Global Responses to Global Threats: Sustainable Security for the 21st Century and An Uncertain Future: Law Enforcement, National Security and Climate Change, his articles on global security issues have appeared in numerous publications, both in the UK and abroad. His first book, Beyond Terror: The Truth About the Real Threats to Our World, was published by Random House in April 2007, and is now available in five languages. He is currently writing his second book, 21 Speeches that Shaped Our World: The People and Ideas that Changed the Way We Think, due for publication in 2010.

Chris has been a regular commentator on political and security issues in the national and international media, and in recent years has been interviewed by the BBC, ABC, British Forces Radio, The Australian, The Toronto Star and Esquire magazine. His books and reports have been covered by press and media around the world, including The Times, The Independent and The Guardian in the UK, and Al Jazeera, CNN and The Boston Globe overseas.

His work on international security has been raised twice in the British House of Commons during debates with the Prime Minister (March 2008) and the Foreign Secretary (February 2008) and referred to by the Spanish Prime Minister at an international meeting in Uruguay (November 2006). Chris has also given written and oral evidence to Parliamentary Select Committees, briefed MPs in the House of Commons, met advisers in 10 Downing Street and briefed members of the police and armed forces in Canberra. His work has taken him to Egypt, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy and Spain and he has also travelled or holidayed in Turkey, Morocco, the USA, Ecuador, Peru, Belize, Germany, Greece and Ireland.

Chris has a degree in Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a Masters in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews. He is a member of the British International Studies Association (BISA), the Foreign Affairs & Global Risks Network, the Futures Analysts' Network and the Peace and Collaborative Development Network.

For more information please read his CV.

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