Personal profile
Biography
Dr Roxani Krystalli is a Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews. A central question animating Roxani's work within and beyond the academy is what sustains life in the face of loss.
Roxani is currently the co-Principal Investigator of a research project on the role of love and care in remaking worlds after loss, including violence, illness, grief, and ecological losses. The project is carried out collaboratively with Dr Philipp Schulz at the University of Bremen, and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).
For over a decade, Roxani has worked at the intersection of gender and peace-building as an academic researcher and humanitarian practitioner. Roxani has partnered with several international and community-based organizations, including Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps, the Feinstein International Center, various UN agencies, Beyond Borders, and more, to understand the experiences of conflict-affected communities. Her work has particularly focused on developing ethical and rigorous methodologies for documenting gendered harms. Roxani regularly advises international organizations and NGOs on various aspects of gender, justice, and peace-building.
Roxani's first book, Good Victims: The Political as a Feminist Question (Oxford University Press, 2024), is based on in-depth engagement in Colombia over the course of a decade. Good Victims won the American Political Science Association's Lee Ann Fujii prize for interpretive research on political violence. The book also received an Honourable Mention for Best Book by a Female Scholar from the Peace Studies Section of the International Studies Association, and was shortlisted for Feminist Theory and Gender Studies book of the year and the L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize of the British International Studies Association. Roxani's research on the politics and hierarchies of victimhood in Colombia received the Peter Ackerman Award at The Fletcher School in 2020. In the same year, her article on the ethics and methods of narrating victimhood was the runner-up for the Cynthia Enloe prize at the International Feminist Journal of Politics.
In 2023, the British International Studies Association awarded Roxani the Early Career Excellence in Teaching International Studies Prize. Her class on the Politics of Nature and Place received the Golden Dandelion award, "in recognition of considerable contribution to education for sustainable development." Through her feminist pedagogy, Roxani is committed to fostering a critical curiosity about power, an experiential education grounded in place, and an imagination of more just worlds.
Roxani's research has been supported by numerous grants and fellowships from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, the Scotland's Future Series, the United States Institute of Peace, the National Science Foundation, the Folke Bernadotte Academy, the Social Science Research Council, the Henry J. Leir Institute, and the World Peace Foundation.
Roxani holds a PhD and MA from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, as well as a BA from Harvard University. She was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Research overview
Dr Krystalli's research, teaching, and supervision interests include:
- love and loss
- the politics of nature and place
- ethics and methods of researching political violence
- narrative and storytelling in the study of politics
- care, beauty, and joy in the shadow of war and peace
Education/Academic qualification
Bachelor of Arts, Harvard University
Master of Arts, Tufts University
Doctor of Philosophy, Tufts University
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
-
SDG 5 Gender Equality
-
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
-
SDG 13 Climate Action
-
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Narratives and violence: feminist dilemmas, revisited
Krystalli, R., 19 Jan 2026, Handbook on gender and violence. Biddolph, C., Kim, J., Perry, S. & Shepherd, L. J. (eds.). 2nd ed. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, p. 133-145 (International handbooks on gender).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
-
The poetry of ambivalence: a nudge toward tending
Krystalli, R., 18 Sept 2025, Ambivalent activism: working with contradiction, hesitation, and doubt for social change. Emejulu, A., Kustatscher, M. & McGregor, C. (eds.). Bristol: Bristol University Press, p. 172-177 6 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
-
Good victims: the political as a feminist question
Krystalli, R., 7 May 2024, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 255 p. (Oxford studies in gender and international relations)Research output: Book/Report › Book
-
Taking love and care seriously: an emergent research agenda for remaking worlds in the wake of violence
Krystalli, R. & Schulz, P., 1 Mar 2022, In: International Studies Review. 24, 1, 25 p., viac003.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Teaching and learning reflexivity in the global politics classroom
Krystalli, R., Dec 2023, In: International Political Sociology. 17, 4, 17 p., olad018.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile
Projects
- 3 Finished
-
-
Growing Roots: A Sense of Place
Krystalli, R. (PI)
Scotland’s Future Series - University of St Andrews
1/01/23 → 31/05/24
Project: Standard
-
FBA Research Grants 2021 (21-00264): Book manuscript workshop: The politics and hierarchies of victimhood
Krystalli, R. (PI)
1/02/22 → 30/09/23
Project: Standard
Activities
-
Julia Leser
Krystalli, R. (Host)
Jul 2026Activity: Hosting a visitor types › Hosting an academic visitor
-
Feminism as a question of life, not just (violent) death
Krystalli, R. (Invited speaker)
27 May 2026Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
Beyond method: Curiosity and care in research
Krystalli, R. (Keynote/Plenary speaker)
May 2026Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
What sustains life? Stories of love and loss in Colombia
Krystalli, R. (Invited speaker)
May 2026Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
From peacebuilding in Colombia to storytelling in Scotland: Creativity in research
Krystalli, R. (Invited speaker)
Mar 2026Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Prizes
-
Peter Ackerman Award for Best PhD Dissertation
Krystalli, R. C. (Recipient), May 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
International Studies Association Online Media Caucus Best Individual Blog Award
Krystalli, R. C. (Recipient), 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service
Krystalli, R. C. (Recipient), 2014
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Honos Civicus Society Inductee
Krystalli, R. C. (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Cynthia Enloe Prize Runner-Up
Krystalli, R. C. (Recipient), Jan 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press/Media
-
I remember.... Covid memorial acknowledges it's not over
2/03/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research
-
Reconciliation after war: BBC Radio Scotland Sunday Morning with Cathy Macdonald
24/04/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Relating to Research
-
Refugee journalists in Lesbos tell their own stories
24/09/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research