from PhD: Imaginaries of Law, Borders and Rights: Forced Migrant Voices of Change
Image Credit: 'The Floating City' by refugee artist Mohammed Soleymani
Dr. Kirandeep Kaur
I am a researcher, writer, and educator working with participatory action research and storytelling to explore knowledge, agency, and justice from lived experiences. I was awarded a PhD in Law and Development (cum laude) and will begin a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship with the University of Antwerp in January 2026. My research and advocacy work aims to explore localising rights and gendered and displacement issues alongside enabling community-led research to challenge dominant ways of knowing and enacting rights.
Education
2024 Joint Ph.D. Law and Development, Cum Laude, Tilburg University Law School, the Netherlands and University of Oslo, Norway
2013 MSSc Social and Community Development, Distinction, Queens University Belfast, UK
2009 BA Politics, Third, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK
.jpg)
Networks and Memberships
British Association of Lectures in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP)
Social Legal Studies Association (SLSA)
Women in Refugee Law (WiRL)
Editorial Board Member of Journal of Displaced Voices
European Doctorate in Law and Development
Feminist Autonomous Centre for Research
Publications
K. Kaur (2025) "Book Review of Ghost Citizens: Decolonial Apparitions of Stateless Foreign and Wayward Figures of Law" Statelessness and Citizenship Review
K. Kaur "This is the oppressor’s language yet I need it to talk to you." Reading Decoloniality, 21 January 2025, https://readingdecoloniality.warwick.ac.uk/this-is-the-oppressors-language-yet-i-need-it-to-talk-to-you/
R. Grishmanovskaya and M. J. Recalde-Vela (2024) K. Kaur (ed.) "Policy Report: Shifting Discourses in Rule of Law Cooperation"
R. Grishmanovskaya et. al (2024) "Policy Brief: Direct Partnerships with Local Organizations: risks, opportunities and research questions"
K. Kaur, B. Grama, N. R. Chaudhuri & M. J. Recalde-Vela (2023) "Ethics & Epistemic Injustice in the Global South: A Response to Hopman’s Human Rights Exceptionalism as Justification for Covert Research." Journal of Human Rights Practice: 35
Kaur, K. (2022) "Co-writing and Inclusive Publications." Forced Migration Review
Special Issue: Kaur, K. (2021). "Editorial: Action Research and Academic Skills: Co-Creating with Refugee Women and Introducing the Writers." Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2)
Ismail, N. and K. Kaur (2021). "Health Inequities with Somali Women in Kuala Lumpur." Displaced Voices A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2)
Sultana, A. and K. Kaur (2021). "Lived Experiences of a Rohingya Journalist." Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2)
Husain, S., S. Shakirah and K. Kaur (2021). "Syedah’s Journey: From Child Marriage to Activist." Displaced Voices A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2)
Ally, P. and K. Kaur (2021). "Trauma and Criticality: How Stories Raise Our Consciousness and Can Heal Our Past." Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2)
Kaur, K. (2016). Migration and Asylum Roundtable Report: COST Action IS1306 Whole Action Conference. Hamburg University, 11–13 May 2016. PDF available online
Kaur, K. (2016). Migration, Asylum and Brexit: Reflections from the Network Roundtable. Blog post, COST Action IS1306. Available online
Reimagining Rights
Exploring Rights as envisioned and enacted from the margins. See further about my MSCA project related to Nepal with displaced/stateless women, COST Action Application and 'ReRights' projects.
Participatory Action Research and Storytelling Methods
Emphasising the importance of participatory and creative research methods when working with communities from the margins. See further about my PhD in Law and Development in Malaysia with displaced and stateless communtiy development actors.
Work History in Education and Community-led Projects
Connecting with my work history and journey to law and development focused research, practice and education. See my teaching experience, education and training, and projects with communities.
Presentations, Events and Awards
Check out presentations I have given, events I have organised/hosted/chaired and further details on grants and funds I have been awarded.
Recent and Upcoming Projects
in 2025
University of Amsterdam
Neurodiversity: Participation in Education and Research
A course development project, partnering with colleagues from the University of Amsterdam and Inholland Hogeschool. I'm co-developing an innovative, inclusively designed master's elective, set to debut in 2025, focusing on Participatory Action-Based Research (PAR) with neurodiverse communities. Funded through Fair, Resilient & Inclusive Society (FRIS).
Erasmus University
Academic Writing with Erasmus University
Leveraging my expertise in academic writing, I'm guiding biomedical students at Erasmus University to refine their writing skills, ensuring they effectively communicate complex research ideas and findings for publication (at Masters or PhD Level). This role underscores my commitment to enhancing students' academic proficiency and fostering their success in the biomedical field.
Shifting Discourse in Rule of Law and
Development Policy
Previously, in collaboration with former PhD colleagues, provided expert input on participatory community engagement and community-led development for a project focusing on integrating decolonial perspectives into rule of law (ROL) development and localisation with the Thrive Institute and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim is to transition from traditional top-down approaches to raise question how to create more inclusive, community-driven policy-making. The aim for the workshops and subsequent report was to connect decolonial theoretical insights with practical ROL applications and fostering people-centered interventions. Funded by the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law.
See Report: https://kpsrl.org/publication/shifting-discourses-in-rule-of-law-cooperation
Upcoming Online Event 18th June 2025: Launching the 'Shifting Discourses in Rule of Law Cooperation' Report
Read my Voices Blog
Why reimagine?
Unwriting Borders, Voicing Rights
The concept of rights has long been shaped by dominant historical, legal, and geopolitical imaginaries—often rooted in European traditions that have defined who is recognized as a rights-holder and how rights are enforced. However, these frameworks are increasingly inadequate in addressing the complexities of the modern world.
Borders shape where we belong, who is protected, and who is excluded. Rights are supposed to transcend them, yet they remain tied to citizenship, legal status, and power. What happens when borders make you invisible? When your existence, on paper or in practice, is erased?
Reimagining rights is not about theory alone; it’s about praxis i.e. the intersection of knowledge and action. This means refocusing on how rights are claimed, lived, and enacted through struggle and co-action. These ideas have shaped my work in my PhD and my work moving forward.
Over the summer of 2024, I created a partnership between transdisciplinary collaboration, involving 18 partners: universities, NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs), and policymakers. I wrote the COST Action application to create the Reimagining Rights Network (Re-RiN to explore expanding rights to new frontiers i.e. non-human entities, environmental justice, AI governance and regulation, and further.
I aim to be a praxis-led researcher. It’s why I applied for and was awarded the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship. This will begin in 2026 with the University of Antwerp with a later placement at the Institute for Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI). In this project, I will explore rights from the perspective of displaced and stateless women in Nepal.
I hope one day to create a Borders Praxis Hub in Law and Development to explore these ideas further alongside researchers, policymakers and community-led organisations.
Image Credit: 'Woman of the Mists' by
Mohammed Soleymani