Hari KC

BSIA Fellow   Research Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University   PhD in Global Governance, 2022

Hari KC
Faculty, Graduate
Faculty, Graduate

RESEARCH CLUSTER

RESEARCH CLUSTER

Hari KC

BSIA Fellow

Research Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University

PhD in Global Governance, 2022

hkc@balsillieschool.ca

 See LinkedIn Profile

 

Hari KC is a Research Fellow with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University, a Contract Teaching Faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He co-leads the CERC project Digital Nomadism: The Changing World of Migration, Mobility and Work, which investigates the rise of digital nomads and international remote workers as new forms of global labour mobility. His broader research agenda explores transnational labour migration, digital nomadism, gender and migration governance, and food security among migrant workers.

Hari earned his PhD in Global Governance from the Balsillie School, where his dissertation examined the gendered governance of labour migration from Nepal to the Gulf. His forthcoming book, Entangled Precarity: The Political Economy of Gendered Labour Migration from Nepal to the Gulf (University of British Columbia Press), reframes the experiences of Nepali women migrant domestic workers through feminist and postcolonial perspectives.

Drawing on extensive fieldwork across Asia, Europe, and North America, his work highlights how contrasting migration flows—from South-to-North labour migration to North-to-South digital nomadism—are shaped by global inequalities, restrictive visa regimes, and asymmetrical power relations. He is also a committed public intellectual and community advocate, bringing a strong focus on justice, equity, and inclusive development to migration governance.

 

Media Op-ed

Interview

  • CBC Kitchener Radio, April 12, 2013 (on issues related to granting voting rights to permanent residents at municipal elections in Canada)

Awards

  • SSHRC Connection Grant, 2024
  • IDRC Doctoral Research Award, 2017
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2017
  • Balsillie Doctoral Fellowship, 2015-19
  • Dean’s Pick Award, 2014
  • Helmut Braun Memorial Award, 2013
  • Beltz Essay Award, 2012
  • Highest Academic Achievement Award, 1995

Select Publications

  • KC, H., & Triandafyllidou, A. (2025). Digital Nomadism and the Emergence of Digital Nomad Visas: What Policy Objectives Do States Aim to Achieve? The International Migration Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183241306367
  • Karki, K. K., KC, H., Giwa, S. D., V. Mullings, R., C. D. (2023). Making live and letting die: Nepali migrant workers returning from India encounter the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, Vol 7, No 3, 272-295.
  • Hennebry, J. L., Piper, N., KC, H., & Williams, K. (2022). Bilateral labor agreements as migration governance tools: An analysis from a gender lens. Theoretical Inquiries in Law, 23(2), 184–204. https://doi.org/10.1515/til-2022-0015
  • Karki, K. & KC, H. (2020). “Nepal-India Relations: Beyond Realist and Liberal Theoretical Prisms.” Journal of International Affairs, Vol 3, No 1.
  • Hennebry, J., KC, H., & Piper, N. (2019). Not without them: realizing the sustainable development goals for women migrant workers. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(14), 2621–2637. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1456775
  • KC, H. (2016). “Disability Discourse in South Asia and Global Disability Governance.” Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 5(4), 25-62.

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Global Governance, Balsillie School of International Affairs, 2015 ‒ 2022
  • Master of Arts, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Waterloo, 2013 ‒ 2015
  • Master of Arts, English, University of Waterloo, 2011 ‒ 2012
  • Master of Arts, English, Tribhuvan University, 1998 ‒ 2000