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Tiago Matos dos Santos

Tiago Matos dos Santos

Biography

Tiago Matos dos Santos, 26, is a PhD candidate in International Relations (IR) at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). He is currently researching the role of global benchmarking as technologies in promoting neoliberal development reforms in the Global South, using the World Bank’s “Enabling the Business of Agriculture ranking as a case study. His master’s thesis (also an IR) examined the strategies of depoliticization and legitimization behind the global governance of land grabbing. During this time, he also published a couple of articles on both land grabbing and the influence of agri-food corporations in UN agencies. He then contributed with a book chapter on “foreignization of land” and another on the role of the World Bank in opening land markets in the South. In 2021, Tiago earned the title of Food Security and Nutrition Specialist from the International University for the Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB) and the State University of São Paulo (UNESP) with a research paper on the challenges of managing the National School Meal Program (PNAE) in the municipality of Candeias, Brazil. Between 2019 and 2020, he worked for a local government as a Coordinator of Youth Empowerment Projects and Strategic Planning in the local Board of Education. Since 2018, Tiago has been a member of the Network on International Agrifood Studies (REDAGRI) and the Globalisation of Politics (GLOPOLI) research group. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities with a minor in IR.

Email: tiagoms@ufba.br