Benedikt Korf

Assistant Professor

Division of Human Geography
Department of Geography
University of Zurich - Irchel
Winterthurerstr. 190
CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland

room: Y25L76

email: korf@geo.unizh.ch
tel: +41-44-635 52 40
fax: +41-44-635 68 44

Below you will find a short CV, information about my research, and links to publications.

Curriculum Vitae

Present position

Assistant Professor (tenure track), Department of Geography, University of Zurich, since 2007

Academic education and professional activities

Lecturer in Geography, University of Liverpool, 2005-2007
Research Fellow, Chair of Resource Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2004-2005
PhD, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2004
Freelance consultant in international development 2000-present
Postgraduate certificate in Rural Development, Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung (SLE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 1999
MA in Geography, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH), 1999
MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH), 1998

Main fields of interest

Disasters, Development and Generosity: In this emerging theme, I want to make sense of the ambivalent nature of charity and generosity granted on the occurrence of natural disasters and/or political emergencies, comparing the South Asian Tsunami to other disasters, such as the Pakistan earthquake. This links with theoretical literature on development ethics and geographies of generosity.
Political geographies of violence and vulnerability: In this major research theme, I have studied livelihood strategies of peasants and fishermen and investigated the political geographies of property rights to land and other natural resources in Sri Lanka’s civil war. I have written policy papers for Berghof-Foundation, GTZ and World Bank on the subject. Currently, I am involved in a collaborative research project with a team of German and Ethiopian researcher studying how (agro-) pastoralist communities in Somali and Afar region in Ethiopia are affected by natural resource conflicts and local politics of violence.
Ethnographies and ethics of aid in conflict: Interest in this theme arose from my work as development consultant in Sri Lanka and reflects upon the working (and ethical) spaces of aid agencies in the context of violent conflict.
Participatory development in the context of violent conflict: I have also written on the challenges of participation in development aid, as experienced in my consultancy work in Sri Lanka (for GTZ, ADB), mainly for a practitioners’ audience.

Teaching

Master-Modul GEO 423: Aktuelle Beiträge zur Entwicklungsforschung

PhD supervision

Fekadu Beyene, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (with Konrad Hagedorn): Pastoralist livelihoods in Somali region, Ethiopia

Current research projects

See ongoing research projects of our division.

Political Geographies of Pastoralism in the Ethiopian-Somalian Borderlands (Funding: BMZ; IFPRI project: "The role of collective action and property rights for poverty reduction", with Ruth Meinzen-Dick, IFPRI, Konrad Hagedorn, Berlin, Michael Kirk, Marburg).
Faith, Community and Development in Sri Lanka (Funding: ESRC , Non-governmental public action programme; with Jonathan Spencer, Edinburgh, Jonathan Goodhand, SOAS)

Completed research projects

2005-2006: Land and Conflict in Sri Lanka – Policy Note (Funding: World Bank, South Asia division)
2005: Reducing tensions in multi-ethnic areas of Sri Lanka (Funding: Facilitating Local Initiatives for Conflict Transformation (FLICT), GTZ Sri Lanka)
2002-2005: Enhancing sustainable rural livelihoods in the Eastern Hararghe Highlands, Ethiopia (Funding: DFG-BMZ; with Konrad Hagedorn, Berlin, Ayalneh Bogale, Alemaya).
2001: Conflict - Threat or Opportunity? Land use and coping strategies of war-affected communities in Trincomalee district, Sri Lanka (Funding: Integrated Food Security Programme Trincomalee (IFSP), GTZ Sri Lanka).

Publications since 2001

Journal articles (peer-reviewed)

Forthcoming:

2007, forthcoming, ‘A Neural Turn? On the ontology of the geographical subject’, Environment and Planning A.
2007, in press, with A. Bogale, ‘To Share or Not to Share? (Non-)Violence, Scarcity and Resource Access in Somali Region, Ethiopia’, Journal of Development Studies.
2007, in press, Contract or War? On the rules of the game in civil wars, Journal of International Development.
2006, forthcoming, ‘Geographien der Moral’, Geographische Zeitschrift.

Published:

2007, ‘Antinomies of Generosity: Moral geographies and post-Tsunami aid in Southeast Asia’, Geoforum 38 (1), 366-378.
2006, with L. Oughton, ‘Rethinking the European Countryside: Can we learn from the South?‘, Journal of Rural Studies 22, 278-289.
2006, with H. Fünfgeld, ‘War and the Commons: assessing the changing politics of violence, access and entitlements in Sri Lanka’, Geoforum 37 (3), 391-403.
2006, ‘Who is the Rogue? Discourse, Power and Spatial Politics in Sri Lanka‘, Political Geography 25 (3), 279-297.
2006, ‘Cargo Cult Science, Armchair Empiricism and the Idea of Violent Conflict’, Third World Quarterly 27 (3), 459-476.
2006, ‘Functions of Violence Revisited: Greed, Pride and Grievance in Sri Lanka’s Civil War’, Progress in Development Studies 6 (2), 109-122.
2006, ‘Dining with Devils? An Ethnographic Enquiry into the Conflict-Development Nexus in Sri Lanka‘, Oxford Development Studies 44 (1), 47-64.
2006, with S. Engel, ‘On the Incentives of Violence: Greed and Pride in Sri Lanka’s Civil War’, South Asian Economic Journal 7 (1), 117-129.
2005, ‘Challenging the Continuum. New Concepts for Development Aid in Sri Lanka’s Complex Emergency’, Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences 28 (1+2), 1-23.
2005, 'Rethinking the Greed-Grievance Nexus: Property Rights and the Political Economy of War in Sri Lanka', Journal of Peace Research 42 (2), 201-217.
2005, ‘Wer hat Angst vorm Schurkenstaat? Macht / Raum-Diskurse in Sri Lanka‘, Geographica Helvetica 35 (2), 127-135.
2005, 'Participatory Development and Violent Conflict – An Antagonism?', International Journal of Rural Management 1 (1), 59-71.
2005, with A. Bogale and K. Hagedorn, 'Determinants of Povery in Rural Ethiopia’, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 44 (2), 101-120.
2004, 'War, Livelihoods and Vulnerability in Sri Lanka', Development and Change 35 (2), 177-197.
2004, 'Food Security in Times of War: Geographical Development Research at the Nexus of Theory and Practice', Die Erde 135 (1), 219-233.
2004, 'Die Ordnung der Entwicklung: Zur Ethnographie der Entwicklungspraxis und ihrer ethischen Implikationen', Geographische Zeitschrift 92 (4), 208-226.
2004, 'Der Andere als Schurke: Zur Rolle ethnisierter Feindbilder in den srilankischen Friedensverhandlungen', Internationales Asienforum 35 (3), 245-261.
2003, 'Geographien der Gewalt: Handlungsorientierte geographische Bürgerkriegsforschung in politisch-ökonomischer Perspektive', Geographische Zeitschrift 91 (1), 24-39.
2003, 'Livelihoods at Risk: Coping strategies of war-affected communities in Sri Lanka', Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics 104 (2), 129-141.
2002, 'Ist PRA in der Postmoderne angekommen?', Peripherie 87, 293-314.
2001, with E. Bauer, 'Gabenökonomie oder Marktwirtschaft? Humanitäre Maßnahmen in Konfliktregionen. Der Nordosten Sri Lankas', Entwicklungsethnologie 10 (1+2), 121-152
2000, with E. Bauer and C. Bigdon, 'Anspruch und Wirklichkeit in der Konfliktbearbeitung – Was kann Entwicklungszusammenarbeit wirklich leisten? Das Beispiel Sri Lanka', Peripherie 79, 43-68.
2000, 'Ökonomie der Zeit. Über Wege zu Wassermühlen, Partizipation und Gender – Beobachtungen aus Tansania', Entwicklungsethnologie 9 (1), 28-42.

Monographs

2005, with A. Engel, Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Natural Resource Management. Rome: FAO.
2004, Conflict, Space and Institutions: Property Rights and the Political Economy of War in Sri Lanka, Aachen: Shaker.
2001, with T. Flämig, C. Schenk, M. Ziebell, J. Ziegler, R.M. Singarayer, R.M. Abeyrathne, K. Devarajah, D. Dharmarajah, and T. Sakthivel, Conflict – Threat or Opportunity. Land Use and Coping Strategies of War-affected Communities in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, (= Schriftenreihe des Seminars für Ländliche Entwicklung, No. S195, Berlin), Weikersheim: Margraf.

Book chapters

2006, ‘Governing Bottom-up in Rural Development: The legitimacy dilemma’, in L. Cheshire, V. Higgins and G. Lawrence (eds.), International Perspectives on Rural Governance: New Power Relations in Rural Economies and Societies. London: Routledge, 259-272.
2006, ‘Hydraulischer Imperialismus, Geographie und epistemische Gewalt in Sri Lanka’, in Kulke, E., H. Monheim and P Wittmann (eds.), GrenzWerte. Tagungsbericht und Abhandlungen, 55. Deutscher Geographentag Trier 2005. Leipzig: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geographie, 627-633.
2005, ‘The Commons at War: Fuzzy Property Rights and Ethnicised Entitlements in Sri Lanka’, in Cuasay, P and C. Vaddhanaphuti (eds.): Commonplaces and Comparisons: Remaking Eco-political Spaces in Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai: Regional Centre for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), 103-125.
2004, with C. Bigdon, ‘The Role of Development Aid in Conflict Transformation – Facilitating Empowerment Processes and Community Building’, in Austin, A.; Fischer, M. and N. Ropers (eds.): Transforming Ethno-political Conflict: The Berghof-Handbook. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 341-370. [equal authorship]
2004, 'Making Sense of Bottom-up in Rural Development', in Van Huylenbroeck, G., Verbeke, W. And L Lauwers (eds.), Role of Institutions in Rural Policies and Agricultural Markets, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 423-437.
2004, 'Partizipation als Tyrannei? - Zur PRA-Methode in der ländlichen Gemeindeplanung', in Laschewski, L. and C. Neu (eds.), Sozialer Wandel in ländlichen Räumen: Theorie, Empirie und politische Strategien, Aachen: Shaker, 259-280.
2003, with E. Bauer and C. Bigdon, 'Development Projects in Complex Emergencies – The Case of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka', in Mayer, M.; Rajasingam-Senanayake, D. and Y. Thangarajah (eds.), Building Local Capacities for Peace: Rethinking Conflict and Development in Sri Lanka, New Delhi: Mac Millan Publishers, 177-195.
2003, 'Livelihoods, Food Security and Conflict in Trincomalee', in CEPA / IMCAP/ SLAAS (eds.), Poverty Issues in Sri Lanka. Towards New Empirical Insights, Colombo: Center for Poverty Analysis, 126-148.
2002, 'Ist PRA ein angemessenes Instrument zur Bevölkerungsbeteiligung in Wohlstands¬gesellschaften?', in Müller, K. et al. (eds.), Wissenschaft und Praxis der Land¬schaftsnutzung – Formen interner und externer Forschungskooperation, Weikers¬heim: Margraf Verlag, 93-104.

Short articles, essays, reviews

2007, forthcoming, Review of “J. Nevins (2005): A Not-So-Distant Horror: Mass violence in East Timor”, Progress in Human Geography.
2007, forthcoming, Review of “Naila Kabeer (ed) (2005) Inclusive Citizenship: Meaning and Expressions”, International Development Planning Review.
2006, ‘Commentary on the Special Section on the Indian Ocean Tsunami: Disasters, Generosity and the Other’, Geographical Journal 172 (3), 245-247.
2006, ‘Observations: Geography and Benedikt XVI’, Area 38 (3), 326-329.
2005, ‘Sri Lanka: The tsunami after the tsunami', International Development Planning Review 27 (3), i-vii.
2005, ‘Partizipation als Tyrannei? Reaktion auf zwei Beiträge zum Thema “Partitzipation”: H. Heinrichs. 2005. GAIA 14/1:30-31. C.F. Gethmann. 2005. GAIA 14/1:32-33.’, GAIA 14 (3), 224-226.
2004, 'Beyond Continuum Thinking: Participation is possible even in wartimes!', PLA Notes 50, 171-189.
2003, 'Conflict – Threat or Opportunity? War, Livelihoods and Vulnerability in Sri Lanka', ICAR Discussion Paper on Institutional Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources No. 1. Berlin: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
2003, Sri Lanka: Wer hat Angst vorm Schurkenstaat?', Südasien 23 (4), 59-65.
2003, 'Ethnicised Entitlements? Property Rights and Civil War in Sri Lanka', ZEF Discussion Paper on Development Policy No. 75. Bonn: Center for Development Research (ZEF).
2003, 'Contract or War? An Essay on Institutional Logic in Civil Wars', Berghof Occasional Paper No. 23, Berlin: Berghof Zentrum für Konstruktive Konfliktbearbeitung.
2003, 'Schafft Entwicklung Frieden in Sri Lanka?', Südasien 23 (2), 59-62.
2002, with E. Bauer, 'Food Security in the Context of Crisis and Conflict: Beyond Continuum Thinking', Gatekeeper Series No. 106, (London: iied).
2002, 'Does PRA make sense in democratic societies?', PLA-Notes 44, 65-69.
2002, ‘Getting the Institutions Right! Reconciling Societies in Post-War Recovery’. Pravada, 8 (3), 35-38.
2001, 'Agenten der Entlastung? Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und Bürgerkrieg in Sri Lanka', blätter des iz3w, 254, 28-29
2001, 'Entwicklung als Entlastungstat? Internationale Zusammenarbeit im Kontext des Sri Lankischen Bürgerkrieges', Südasien 21 (2), 53-57
2001, 'Vom Süden lernen? Planen mit PRA', Ausbildung und Beratung, 3, 78-80.
2001, with Bien, B.; Falge, C.; Fischer, M.; Hollmeier, E.; Holthusen, B.; Maaßen, U.; Pölking, A.; Ruth, P.; Van Stuyvenberg-Huhnholz, S.; Wittine, D. (2001): 'PRA in Wohlstands¬gesellschaften – Erfahrungen aus Niedersachsen', LBL-BeraterInnen News, 1, 53-57.
2000, 'Engendering Engineers – Wasserwirtschaftsprojekte in Tansania und Ghana', blätter des iz3w, Spezialheft ‚Gender’, 46-48.
1998, 'Local Self-Reliance im Kontext der Dezentralisierung in Ghana: Selbsthilfe¬modelle in der Wasserversorgung ländlicher Kommunen', Trialog 59, 31-35.