Dr. Christian Girard - Lecturer

Office: 014-243

Phone: (679) 323 2964

Email: christian.girard@usp.ac.fj

Dr. Christian Girard is a Lecturer in Government, Development and International Affairs (GDIA) at the University of the South Pacific (Fiji), where he started as Lecturer in Management and Public Administration. Prior to USP, he was Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Development Studies at the Asian University for Women (Bangladesh), as well as Lecturer at the postgraduate level in Urban Planning in Developing Countries at Université de Montréal (Canada). For the last 20 years, he has been working and doing research in academia, NGOs and the private sector in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the South Pacific on various projects related to poverty reduction, housing and informal settlements, women’s empowerment, education, social entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as information and communications technologies for development (ICT4D), including monitoring, evaluation, accountability & learning (MEAL) and research & learning for adaptive programming. He is co-editor of the book Mapping Security in the Pacific: A Focus on Context, Gender and Organisational Culture (Routledge, 2020), covering issues related to climate change, governance, indigeneity, adaptation, and resilience.

Academic Qualifications

PhD, Planning and Public Policy with a specialization in Development, Université de Montréal, Canada

MSc, International Studies (Politics, Economics & Law) with a specialization in Urban Management in Developing Countries, Université de Montréal, Canada

BBA, International Management and Finance, HEC Montréal, Canada

Research

• Development, poverty, livelihoods, vulnerability and resilience;
• Governance, public policy, urban planning, housing and informal settlements;
• Social innovation and social entrepreneurship for underserved and hard-to-reach populations.

Teaching

• PL101 Politics of Development
• PL300 Political Parties, Elections and Democracy in the Pacific: Case Studies
• DG400 Advanced Research Methodology
• DG415 Urbanisation, Development & Urban Planning

Recent Publications

Amin, Sara N. and Girard, Christian (2024). Empowerment or Alienation? Teaching Gender and Development in Post-colonial Contexts. Development in Practice. DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2024.2344524

Amin, Sara N., Girard, Christian, and Calabro, Domenica (2022). Gender Inequality and Development Pedagogy. In: N. Banks, S. Engel, P. Hodge, E. Mawdsley, J. Makuwira, N. Nakamura, … P. Yeophantong (Eds). Routledge Handbook of Global Development. London: Routledge.

Girard, Christian, Amin, Sara N., and Watson, Danielle (2021). Reframing security in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Development Bulletin. No. 82 March 2021. Crawford School of Public Policy. ANU Press.

Amin, Sara N., Watson, Danielle and Girard, Christian (Eds) (2020). Mapping Security in the Pacific: A Focus on Context, Gender and Organisational Culture. London: Routledge.

Watson, Danielle, Girard, Christian and Amin, Sara N. (2020). (In)security in the Pacific. In: Amin, SN., Watson, D. and Girard, C. (Eds). Mapping Security in the Pacific: A Focus on Context, Gender and Organisational Culture. London: Routledge.

Amin, Sara N. and Girard, Christian (2020). Insecurities and Strategies of the Leiti (Transgender) Community in Tonga and the Role of Businesses and Indigenous Reconciliation Practices. In: Amin, SN., Watson, D. and Girard, C. (Eds). Mapping Security in the Pacific: A Focus on Context, Gender and Organisational Culture. London: Routledge.

Amin, Sara N., Girard, Christian and Watson, Danielle (2020). Security, Resilience and Resistance in the PICs: Aligning Priorities and Relocating Responsibility. In: Amin, SN., Watson, D. and Girard, C. (Eds). Mapping Security in the Pacific: A Focus on Context, Gender and Organisational Culture. London: Routledge.