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Leschevin Théo

Apr 22, 2026

Théo Leschevin

Research


I am a sociologist, specialising in Northern Ireland and the relations between Catholic and Protestant communities in Belfast. My work more broadly develops a political sociology of integration conflicts relating to secondary groups in contemporary societies. It revolves around the study of “communities” on one hand, and the contradictory aspirations that characterise the passage to adulthood on the other.

My work also engages with the sociology of conflicts, paying particular attention to processes of conflictualisation and de-conflictualisation. I am currently working on both fronts within two collective research projects. On one hand, I am investigating processes of enemisation, examining in particular the state devices for categorising and managing domestic threats (United Kingdom, United States, France). On the other, I am working on disengagement from violence and the reintegration of individuals convicted of terrorism or monitored for violent radicalisation in France.

Info : website / ORCID / Academia / HAL / theo.leschevin@u-paris.fr
Research themes:

  • Northern Ireland, Ireland, United Kingdom
  • Communities, Political Societies and States
  • Enemisation and conflictualisation
  • Peace processes, disengagement and de-conflictualisation
  • Passage to adulthood
  • Political sociology
  • Processual sociology
  • Ethnography, controversy analysis and historical sociology

Current research:

  • Research on the reintegration of individuals convicted of terrorism or monitored for radicalisation, within the ANR TROC project (Terrorists Reintegration in Open Custody, 2021-2026), coordinated by Nicolas Amadio (DynamE, Université de Strasbourg), FMSH.
  • Work on social processes of enemisation, based on (1) analysis of the Northern Irish case, and (2) a comparative approach to the legal manifestations of enemisation in the UK, USA and France. Within the Émergence(s) project “Internal Enemies” (2022-2027), directed by Alexandre Rios-Bordes (ECHELLES, Université Paris Cité).

Career

  • Since 2024 – Maître de conférences (Associate Professor) in Anglophone Studies, IUT de Paris Rives de Seine, Department of Information and Communication, Université Paris Cité
  • 2023-2024 – Postdoctoral researcher, ANR TROC project, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH)
  • 2022-2023 – Postdoctoral researcher, Émergence(s) “Internal Enemies” project, Université Paris Cité
  • 2021-2022 – Temporary Lecturer and Research Associate (ATER), UPEC – AEI International School
  • 2017-2021 – Doctoral fellow, EHESS-PSL; John and Pat Hume Scholarship, Maynooth University (Ireland) – Joint PhD
  • 2021 – PhD defended: The Communities of Moderns. A sociology of political ambivalence in Northern Ireland

Scientific, administrative and pedagogical responsibilities

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Bio

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Media

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    Publications

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      Articles

      Publications

      • “Sectarian, Recreational, or Anti-Social? Interpreting juvenile violence in post-conflict Belfast”. Space and Polity, 2023. DOI
      • “Renégocier le code. Distinction communautaire et pacification urbaine en Irlande du Nord”. Sociologie, Vol. 14, n°2, 2022, p. 143-158. Cairn
      • “Au pied du mur. La réflexivité entravée des protestants et catholiques de Belfast quant à leurs interdépendances”, in Moreau de Bellaing C. & Trom D. (eds.), Raisons Pratiques, Vol. 30, Paris, EHESS, 2022, p. 187-215. OpenEdition
      • “Norbert Elias: Moyen Âge et procès de civilisation“. Lectures, 2021. OpenEdition

      Public engagement

      • “Ce que les émeutes racistes de Ballymena disent de l’Irlande du Nord”. The Conversation, 2025. Read
      • “Covid, Brexit et Irlande du Nord : l’ironie du sort”. A.O.C, Analysis section, 2021. Read
      • “Conflits communautaires. Le double-bind d’Ardoyne”, in Lemieux C. & Nocerino P. (eds.), Dis/continuités, Paris, LIER-FYT, 2021, pp. 78-81.
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