Dr Joseph Leigh
I am a Stipendiary Lecturer in Politics. My work lies at the intersection between International Relations and Historical Sociology, focusing on the rise of the modern international order, the sources of great power rivalry, and the foreign policy of the United States. Before moving to Pembroke, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, where I taught IR papers in the Department of Politics and International Studies.
My current research focuses on two distinct areas of inquiry. The first of these explores how ideas of empire and civilization have informed Anglo-American conceptions of ‘the West’ since the late-nineteenth century. The second concerns the geopolitical implications of economic globalization, examining how the dynamics of capitalist development shape the security relations between major industrial powers.
I hold an MSc and PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics, where I also worked as a Managing Editor of Millennium: Journal of International Studies. My doctoral thesis, ‘The Emergence of Global Power Politics: Imperialism, Modernity and American Expansion, 1870-1914’, received the 2022 prize for Best Dissertation from the European International Studies Association. You can read a full copy of it here.
I completed my first degree in History at Wadham College, University of Oxford. This historical training remains a lasting influence on my work, and I maintain a strong interest in the relationship between history and the wider social sciences.
Dr Joseph Leigh
I am a Stipendiary Lecturer in Politics. My work lies at the intersection between International Relations and Historical Sociology, focusing on the rise of the modern international order, the sources of great power rivalry, and the foreign policy of the United States. Before moving to Pembroke, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, where I taught IR papers in the Department of Politics and International Studies.
My current research focuses on two distinct areas of inquiry. The first of these explores how ideas of empire and civilization have informed Anglo-American conceptions of ‘the West’ since the late-nineteenth century. The second concerns the geopolitical implications of economic globalization, examining how the dynamics of capitalist development shape the security relations between major industrial powers.
I hold an MSc and PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics, where I also worked as a Managing Editor of Millennium: Journal of International Studies. My doctoral thesis, ‘The Emergence of Global Power Politics: Imperialism, Modernity and American Expansion, 1870-1914’, received the 2022 prize for Best Dissertation from the European International Studies Association. You can read a full copy of it here.
I completed my first degree in History at Wadham College, University of Oxford. This historical training remains a lasting influence on my work, and I maintain a strong interest in the relationship between history and the wider social sciences.