Post-Doctoral Research Associate
G.A.Iordachescu@sheffield.ac.uk
George is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate on the Beastly Business project, which he co-designed with other team members. Previously, George worked on the BIOSEC project where he researched the impact of EU regulations on criminalization and securitization of illegal logging and timber trade in the Carpathian Mountains. He gained his PhD in 2019 from the IMT School of Advanced Studies (Lucca, Italy) and his dissertation examined the development of strict protection of wild nature and the spectacular production of wilderness in eastern Europe, and the impact of these processes on local livelihoods.
His research within the Beastly Business project looks at the hidden dynamics of brown bear trafficking within Europe with the aim to transform policy and enforcement approaches to tackling IWT in the region. He combines a long-standing focus on the political ecologies of eastern Europe with new research inspired by green criminology to understand the role of legitimate business in driving or sustaining the traffic in brown bears. He uses ethnographic fieldwork, environmental history and follow-the-policy methods to understand the development of green-collar crime, taking Romania and Slovakia as study cases.
George likes long hikes and never misses a chance to forage for mushrooms, wild herbs and fruits.
You can follow George on Twitter @George_Iorda