Leoni Connah

My name is Dr Leoni Connah, and I am a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Flinders University. My research sits within the field of critical International Relations, with a particular focus on how dominant narratives and power structures shape both local and global understandings of conflict and security. My PhD and ongoing work examine the evolving dynamics of violence in Kashmir, with particular attention to patterns of structural violence and the ways in which they sustain a broader cycle of violence in the region. I focus especially on the systemic human rights abuses experienced in Kashmir and how these embedded forms of inequality, repression, and insecurity perpetuate recurring violence. I also analyse the implications of these dynamics for regional South Asian security and for human security more broadly. My positionality is rooted in decolonial theory, feminist IR, and critical security studies. In my topics, I am especially interested in how critical IR scholarship can challenge dominant frameworks of sovereignty, rights, and global order, offering space for alternative and decolonial perspectives in both theory and practice.