Melissa Nisbett is Reader in Cultural Politics in the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries at King’s College London. She is an interdisciplinary scholar, with an MA and PhD in cultural policy, and specialises in the relationship between culture, power and politics. Melissa has published on the impact of cultural elites on policymaking, the work of political prisoners in cultural tourism, the effect of charismatic leaders on the arts, intercultural relations in the classroom, the impact of war on cultural heritage, the role of cultural policy in social justice and democracy, cultural genocide, and the use of the arts in diplomatic negotiations. She is currently writing a book on the weaponization of soft power by authoritarian states. Melissa has worked with the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the United Nations. Prior to academia, she worked in the cultural sector as an arts manager, consultant and trustee.