Dr. Maximilien Zahnd

Biography

Maximilien Zahnd is an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London in the Anthropology department. His primary research explores the intricate relationship between tax, Indigenous sovereignty, and settler colonialism in North America. Zahnd's work critically examines how tax mechanisms facilitated the colonization of Native communities and highlights their responses to these challenges. Utilizing contemporary historical case studies from Alaska, he investigates the ways in which taxation was utilized in the processes of colonial domination, and how Indigenous peoples have employed tax strategies to resist settler colonialism. His research has been published in notable academic journals such as Law & Social Inquiry, Comparative Studies in Society and History, and Society and Space, and includes topics such as law rurality, tax treaties, and the socio-legal history of the Caribbean, particularly Martinique. Prior to joining Warwick, he served as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex, and held various research positions including a Global Post-Doctoral Fellowship at NYU Law, and roles at University College London and the University of Oxford.

Research Interests

Experience