Ian Clark

Ian Clark joined the Department in 1998, having previously taught at the University of Western Australia and the University of Cambridge. He has held a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship 2002-4, and an ESRC Professorial Fellowship 2007-10. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1999, and has served as its Chair of Posts since 2005. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of Selwyn College in 2000, and in 2010 became a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. He was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation residence at Bellagio in 2003. He has held visiting appointments at the Australian National University, University of Cambridge, ASERI Milan, and Chuo University in Tokyo.

Arolygaeth PhD * IR theory and international history * Ethics of War * Globalisation * International Legitimacy * US Climate Change

His research combines IR theory and international history. After working initially on Soviet foreign policy, his research concentrated for many years on the history of nuclear strategy, especially Anglo-American relations. This developed into an associated interest in the ethics of war. He then produced a number of historical and theoretical works about globalization. During most of the past decade, he has been researching aspects of international legitimacy, and making the case for the importance of this hitherto neglected aspect of international affairs. Currently, he is investigating how issues of legitimacy play out in the unusual context of one preponderant state. This concentrates on the recent role of the United States in contributing to international order, and is focused on case studies in the areas of UN Security Council reform, climate change, and the regional order in East Asia.