I am a Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and hold the University Research Chair in Global Political Thought at the University of Ottawa. My primary interests are in International Relations theory and security studies. I focus on the relationship between ideas and action in global politics.

My previous research examines the place of classic political theory in IR, with a predominant emphasis on the evolution of realism. I analyze critical perspectives on security, including the role of images in security politics. My newest field of research explores the impact of contemporary radical conservative movements – a global right – on international order and foreign policy.

I co-authored my most recent book, Security Beyond the State: Private Security in International Politics (2011), with Rita Abrahamsen. My previous books include: The Realist Tradition and the Limits of International Relations (2005), and Culture and Security: Symbolic Power and the Politics of International Security (2007). I edited, Realism Reconsidered: The Legacy of Hans J Morgenthau in International Relations (2008). And, I co-edited, Critical Security Studies (1997) with Keith Krause.

Before joining the University of Ottawa in 2009, I was the Professor of International Politics in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth. I have been a visiting fellow at the Universities of Cape Town, Copenhagen, Sydney, Queensland, Queen Mary – London, as well as, at the European University Institute in Florence.