Michael Woods

Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom


Michael Woods is Professor of Human Geography and Co-director of the Centre for Welsh Politics and Society at Aberystwyth University and Co-Director of the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD). His research interests include: (1) globalisation and rural change in the 'global countryside', the focus of his ERC GLOBAL-RURAL project (2014-19); (2) civil society and polarisation, as Co-Director and Theme Leader for the ESRC WISERD/Civil Society Research Centre (2014-19); and (3) spatial justice, investigated in the Horizon 2020 IMAJINE project (2017-22). These interests come together in his new ERC/UKRI project 'Rural Spatial Justice' on rural support for disruptive political movements in the UK, USA and Europe. Michael Woods is a former editor of the Journal of Rural Studies and the author of several books, including Rural (Routledge, 2011) and An Introduction to Political Geography (Routledge, 2015).


Ulrike Grabski-Kieron

University of Münster, Germany


Ulrike Grabski-Kieron, Dr., Professor Emerita. Professor of Local and Regional Development and Spatial Planning at the Institute of Geography, University Muenster, Germany. Research interests: applied research on rural areas and rural spatial development, spatial planning, geographic cultural landscape and and land use management. Long term international collaborations, especially with French partners. Studies of Applied Geography at the Ruhr University Bochum (Germany) doctorate (1985), habilitation (1993), research assistant until 1986; executive employee of the Northrine Westfalia state agency for urban and regional development, Technical Management Department (1986 - 1996). Member of the ARL – Academy for territorial Development in the Leibniz Association, Germany. Memberships on various advisory boards and committees for Police advice. Co-editor of the book series “Ländliche Räume: Beiträge zur lokalen und regionalen Entwicklung - Rural areas: Issues of local and regional development ( Lit- Verlag, Münster, Germany). Since 2017 freelance scientific activities and projects of scientific writing.