School of Politics and International Studies

Professor of International Studies

What brought you to POLIS and the University of Leeds?
I came to the University of Leeds in the course of a major effort to recruit senior staff for the newly created Institute for Politics and International Studies, now known as POLIS. Previously I worked at the University of Reading, the University of Essex and King's College London.

What are your main areas of work?
My area of specialisation is international security, and in particular nuclear weapons policy and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). I am interested in examining pathways towards a world without nuclear weapons and the prevention of terrorist attacks using WMD.

What is the Korean Research Hub and what is your involvement with this project?
The Korea Research Hub was created as a joint initiative by interested academics in Leeds and Sheffield to make up for a gap in the White Rose Centre of East Asian Studies which does not include Korean Studies. As part of my work on non-proliferation I have become a specialist in North Korea's nuclear programme and South Korean national security policy, and we are working to attract more support for Korean Studies in Leeds and Sheffield.

What areas are your current PhD students working on?
Three of my students are working on various aspects of security on the Korean peninsula, and others on South Asian security. One of my students is working on US national missile defence programmes.

What advice would you give to students thinking of applying for a PhD here at Leeds to help with their application?
In addition to excellent qualifications, PhD students need to define a project that is coherent, interesting to them and the academic community, and fits in with the research interests of members of staff.

Our MA programmes attract students from both the UK and across the world, how would you say this mix of backgrounds benefit students?
In different cultures there are different approaches to understanding the world and the international system and it is good for students to be confronted first hand with different ways of thinking and different historical experiences.

What Research Projects have your recently undertaken/currently undertaking?
I have recently published a book about Korea and I am completing two other books (one edited, one single-author) on security on the Korean peninsula. I have also recently completed a major project on US policy toward the Caspian region and work on US strategic nuclear policy.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
The most enjoyable part is the interaction with people, i.e. my students and the people in academia and politics that I encounter in the course of work. I enjoy writing and getting my teeth into issues which I consider to be important.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Professors are not supposed to admit they have spare time. I enjoy the National Trust, and I like evenings out to the cinema, good food and jazz clubs.

What are your plans for the future?
My focus is on developing my research projects and building up a research community related to my core interests.

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