John de Boer was a Senior Policy Adviser with the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research in Tokyo (UNU-CPR). Mr de Boer is an expert on development, humanitarian, and security challenges in situations of conflict and violence. At UNU-CPR he leads research that identifies and responds to the multiple dimensions of vulnerability in urban contexts, including that tackling specific challenges related to urban violence, urban disaster, and organized crime.

Prior to joining UNU-CPR, Mr de Boer was the Program Leader for Governance, Security, and Justice at the International Development Research Centre in Canada. He has also worked at the Canadian International Development Agency where he served on the Afghanistan and Pakistan Task Force and with the Agency’s Office for Democratic Governance. He is a Research Associate with the Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, and a Fellow in Diplomatic Affairs at the University of San Francisco’s Center for the Pacific Rim. He has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University and has taught at the University of California, Berkeley. Mr de Boer holds a PhD in Area Studies from the University of Tokyo.