August 25, 2025, TORONTO, ON – The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Cheng Xu as a new member of the Genocide Studies International (GSI) Editorial Board.
Launched in 2005 by the Zoryan Institute, Genocide Studies International has become a leading platform for critical scholarship on genocide, human rights, and mass atrocity crimes. GSI is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research and fostering dialogue among scholars, policymakers, civil society actors, and practitioners around the world.
On this occasion, the Deputy Executive Director of the IIGHRS, Megan Reid, welcomes Dr. Xu to the editorial team:
“Dr. Xu has been a longtime affiliate of the Zoryan Institute. Starting as a student in the Institute’s 2017 Genocide and Human Rights University Program (GHRUP), he has since served as a GHRUP Ambassador, faculty member, Admissions Committee Member, and advisor for the Institute and its staff. The Institute is grateful for his years of service and his dedication to the field. This Institute is now thrilled to be working alongside Dr. Xu in this new capacity as co-editor of GSI.”
Cheng Xu brings a wealth of academic expertise and a strong commitment to engaged scholarship. In his official statement regarding his appointment, Dr. Xu shared:
“I am honored to join the editorial board of Genocide Studies International, a journal that has long served as a vital platform for critical scholarship on mass violence, human rights, and historical justice. In this role, I look forward to contributing to the journal’s mission of fostering rigorous, engaged, and impactful research on genocide and atrocity crimes.
As the field of genocide studies continues to evolve, I believe the journal is uniquely positioned to deepen its interdisciplinary commitments by bringing together scholars across political science, history, anthropology, law, sociology, and beyond. Complex questions of violence, memory, and prevention demand analytical tools and perspectives from across the academic spectrum, as well as the inclusion of survivor voices, community knowledge, and practitioner insights.”
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Cheng Xu is an Assistant Professor of Government at Smith College. He is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Toronto. His research interests are insurgency, civil war, genocide, and mass political violence, with a particular focus on the Southeast Asia region. At Smith College, he teaches courses on genocide, insurgencies, Southeast Asian politics, international relations, and comparative politics. Cheng has also served as a research fellow and senior policy analyst with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, working to advance Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy. He is also a veteran of the Canadian Army, serving for nearly a decade as an infantry officer and paratrooper and served on one overseas deployment in 2014.
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To learn more about the Zoryan Institute’s academic journal, Genocide Studies International, please visit https://utppublishing.com/journal/gsi. Stay up to date with all things GSI and the Zoryan Institute by subscribing to our mailing list at the top of our homepage at www.zoryaninstitute.org and by following us on Instagram at @ZoryanInstitute.
