Faculty and Researchers

Daniel Maxwell

Daniel MaxwellHenry J. Leir Professor in Food Security and Research Director
Director, Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance (MAHA) Program


Working with Feinstein Since: 2006
Based in: Somerville, MA

Daniel Maxwell is the Henry J. Leir Professor in Food Security at the Friedman School of Nutrition and Research Director at the Feinstein International Center. In 2016-2017, he served as the acting director of the Center. His recent research focuses on food security and the re-emergence of famines in the 21st century. He teaches courses on humanitarian action and humanitarian policy, as well as famine and food insecurity. He directs the Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance (MAHA) program at Tufts.

He is the author, with Kirsten Gelsdorf, of Understanding the Humanitarian World (Routledge, 2019). He is the author, with Nisar Majid, of Famine in Somalia: Competing Imperatives, Collective Failures (Oxford University Press, 2016). He is the co-author, with Chris Barrett of Cornell University, of Food Aid After Fifty Years: Recasting Its Role (Routledge, 2005).

Since 2014, Dan has been a member of the Famine Review Committee for the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system—the formal mechanism by which contemporary famines are analyzed and declared. Prior to joining the faculty at Tufts, Dan worked for two decades for humanitarian agencies, mostly in Africa. His most recent position was Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Central Africa for CARE International.

He holds a B.Sc. from Wilmington College, a master’s degree from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.

Research Interests:
  • Famine and acute humanitarian crises
  • Humanitarian information systems and the politics of information and analysis
  • Early warning and anticipatory action
  • Emergency preparedness and contingency planning
  • The “localization” of humanitarian action
  • Resilience, livelihoods, food security, and food security measurement
  • Livelihood systems under stress
  • Humanitarian action and policy
Regional Focus:
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Greater Horn of Africa
  • North Africa/Middle East
Courses Taught:
  • Humanitarian Action in Complex Emergencies (NUTR 229/DHP D230), Fall Term
  • Seminar in Humanitarian Issues (NUTR 223), Fall Term
  • Famine, Livelihoods, and Resilience (NUTR 339), Spring Term
  • International Humanitarian Response (NUTR 324/DHP D-213), Spring Term
Most Cited Books and Articles:
  • Maxwell, Daniel G. “Measuring Food Insecurity: the Frequency and Severity of ‘Coping Strategies.’” Food Policy 21, no. 3 (1996): 291–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-9192(96)00005-x.
  • Maxwell, Daniel, Carol Levin, Margaret Armar-Klemesu, Marie Ruel, Saul Morris, and Clement Ahiadeke. “Urban Livelihoods and Food and Nutrition Security in Greater Accra, Ghana.” International Food Policy Research Institute 112 (2000). https://doi.org/10.2499/0896291154rr112.
  • Maxwell, Daniel G. “Alternative Food Security Strategy: A Household Analysis of Urban Agriculture in Kampala.” World Development 23, no. 10 (1995): 1669–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750x(95)00073-l.
  • Barrett, Christopher, and Daniel Maxwell. “Food Aid after Fifty Years: Recasting Its Role.” London: Routledge (2005).
  • Maxwell, Daniel. “The Political Economy of Urban Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa.” World Development 27, no. 11 (1999): 1939–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-750x(99)00101-1.
Most Recent External Publications:
  • Maxwell, Daniel. “Humanitarian Challenges and Implications for Famine Early Warning Systems” in Accountability for Mass Starvation, eds. Bridget Conley, Alex de Waal, Catriona Murdoch, and Wayne Jordash QC (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022).
  • Lentz, Erin and Daniel Maxwell. 2022. “How do information problems constrain anticipating, mitigating, and responding to crises?” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Vol. 81 (October) Article 103242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103242
  • Maxwell, Daniel, and Peter Hailey. 2021. “Analyzing Famine: The Politics of Information and Analysis in Food Security Crises.” Journal of Humanitarian Affairs Vol. 3 (1), pp. 16-27 http://dx.doi.org/10.7227/JHA.055.
  • Maxwell, Daniel, Abdullahi Khalif, Peter Hailey, and Francesco Checchi. 2020. “Viewpoint: Determining Famine: Multi-Dimensional Analysis for the Twenty-First Century.” Food Policy 92: 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101832.
  • Bapu Vaitla, Jennifer Cisse, Joanna Upton, Girmay Tesfaye, Nigussie Abadi, and Daniel Maxwell. 2020. “How the choice of food security indicators affects the assessment of resilience—an example from northern Ethiopia.” Food Security. Vol. 12(1), pp.137–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00989-w.
  • Maxwell, Daniel, and Kirsten Heidi Gelsdorf. Understanding the Humanitarian World. (London: Routledge 2019).

News Items

Erin Coughlan de Perez, Daniel Maxwell, and colleagues publish in Earth’s Future
July 26, 2023

Scientists with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), including Erin Coughlan de Perez and Daniel Maxwell, have developed new advances in the predictability of East African rains that…

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Dan Maxwell and colleagues publish in Food Policy
June 20, 2023

Dan Maxwell and colleagues including, Peter Hailey and Anastasia Marshak published “Using the household hunger scale to improve analysis and classification of severe food insecurity in famine-risk conditions: Evidence from…

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Feinstein Research Projects

Early Warning Systems and Humanitarian Response
By Elizabeth Stites, Paul Howe, Matteo Caravani, Rahma Hassan, Merry Fitzpatrick, Anastasia Marshak, Daniel Maxwell, Helen Young, Galina Dzesiatava | July 2023

This project aims to improve the lives and livelihoods of populations in pastoral areas of the Sudano-Sahel and Greater Horn of Africa by ensuring that early warning systems and humanitarian action are better attuned and more responsive to the needs and realities of these communities.

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Preventing Famine in the 21st Century
By Daniel Maxwell, Paul Howe, Merry Fitzpatrick, Erin Coughlan de Perez, Anastasia Marshak, Peter Hailey, Erin Lentz | May 2023

This project reconsiders our understanding of famines, the dynamics that give rise to famines, the resilience of populations subjected to these dynamics, and the means of prevention at the disposal of governments, humanitarian agencies, donors, and the affected populations.

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Feinstein Publications

Do Famine Declarations Really Lead to Increased Funding?
Thumbnail of Report "Do Famine Declarations Really Lead to Increased Funding?
By Daniel Maxwell, Matthew Day, Peter Hailey | June 2023

This policy brief examines the relationship between famine declarations and funding since 2011. It shows that, with that one exception, there is little evidence that famine declarations actually result in a rapid increase in funding.

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Famine Prevention: A Landscape Report
Thumbnail of Famine Prevention Report Cover
By Daniel Maxwell, Paul Howe, Merry Fitzpatrick | February 2023

This study reviews what we have learned regarding policies and interventions to prevent famine, and how these can be scaled up more rapidly.

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