Kamilia Lahrichi

PhD candidate

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About

Kamilia Lahrichi is a doctoral researcher in International Relations at LSE, under the supervision of Professor Chris Alden. She brings over 13 years of international experience spanning multilateral institutions (the United Nations, the World Bank Group) and global media, with a particular focus on the geopolitics and sustainable development.

Before joining LSE, Kamilia worked at the World Bank Group, where she advised senior leadership on strategic communications and institutional positioning across North and East Africa. Her work focused particularly on climate finance, sustainable development and the energy transition.

She previously held positions at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), contributing to international climate advocacy and methane mitigation initiatives, and at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), working on international refugee law, forced displacement and humanitarian advocacy.

Earlier in her career, Kamilia worked as an award-winning foreign correspondent across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East for major outlets such The Guardian, The Associated Press, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the South China Morning Post amongst others. Based in Beirut, Hong Kong and then Buenos Aires, she covered the Arab Spring from Cairo's Tahrir Square, financial and humanitarian crisis along with economic transformations, including China's growing influence in South America.

She has also worked in policy research, including at the think tank the Global Institute for Tomorrow in Hong Kong, where she contributed to research on sustainable development and China's economic transformation.

Kamilia holds an MA in Politics, specialising in International Relations, from New York University in the US and a Master and Bachelor Cum Laude in Journalism from the École Supérieure de Journalisme in Paris, France. She previously served as a graduate teaching assistant at New York University.

Kamilia is taking classes and is currently at intermediate level in Mandarin.

Research topic

Kamilia's research interests lie at the intersection of international political economy, geopolitics and global power transitions, particularly how emerging powers reshape international order, alliances and governance structures. She is fascinated with China's expanding role on the international stage, South-South cooperation, economic statecraft and the agency of Global South states in navigating shifting power relations.

Kamilia is particularly interested in the energy transition as an emerging arena of geopolitical competition, where technological leadership, industrial policy and access to critical resources are redefining international partnerships and dependencies.