Our Staff
Steven Ratuva
Pro-Vice Chancellor, Pacific
Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva is the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Pacific, and Director of the Macmillan Brown Center for Pacific Studies. He is an award-winning interdisciplinary scholar who has led international teams in a number of areas such as ethnicity, climate change, political transformation and security. Distinguished Professor Ratuva has carried out intensive research and academic leadership in the Pacific for more than 30 years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and Chair of the International Political Science Association research committee on Climate Security and Planetary Politics. Distinguished Professor Ratuvais also member of a number of boards including the Royal Society Te Apārangi, Climate Change Commission, Independent Accountability Group of the Human Rights Commission, the International Science Council, and the PBRF Sector Reference Group. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Metge Medal for social science research (Royal Society of New Zealand); Co-winner, University of Canterbury Research Medal; Winner, University of Canterbury Sustainability Research award. He has held a Fulbright Award and is a Pacific Academy of Sciences Foundation Fellow.
José Sousa-Santos
Convenor of the Pacific Regional Security Hub
José Sousa-Santos is an Associate Professor of Practice and the head and convenor of the Pacific Regional Security Hub (PRSH) at the University of Canterbury. His research focuses on transnational crime, non-state spoilers, and state-condoned illicit disruptors, irregular warfare, and cultural intelligence in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. In 2021, Sousa-Santos was appointed to the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime panel of experts, and he consults with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Previously, he held positions as Senior Fellow (transnational crime) at the Australia Pacific Security College, Australian National University (2020-2023), subject matter expert (transnational crime and terrorism) with the
executive educational cadre for the United States INDO PACOM and SOCPAC Cooperation Against Transnational Threats program, and Pacific Area Security Sector Working Group (2015-2019). In 2020-21, he was a Visiting Fellow with the Australian National University Cyber Institute. Sousa-Santos was formerly an advisor on conflict mediation and dispute resolution to HE Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta during his terms as Timor-Leste’s prime minister and president. He has received numerous commendations including from the United Nations Police for investigative work on transnational crime (human trafficking) and in 2007 he was nominated for the United Nations Sergio Vieira de Mello Human Rights Award for achievements in the area of community conflict mediation and dispute resolution during the Timor-Leste 2006 crisis.sSousa-Santos was formerly the lead analyst on disrupters and spoilers with the United Nations Joint Mission Analysis Centre in Timor-Leste. Prior to this, he served with the Australian Defence Force.
Get In Touch
José Sousa-Santos
Associate Professor of Practice
Head and Convenor of Pacific Regional Security Hub
Email: jose.sousa-santos@canterbury.ac.nz
Holly Neave
Administrator
Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies
Email: holly.neave@canterbury.ac.nz