The School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) at Durham University seeks to appoint an exceptional scholar to the Sheikh Nasser Bin Muhammad Al-Sabah Chair and Professor in International Relations, Regional Politics and Security. The successful candidate will provide intellectual and strategic leadership for the Sheikh Nasser Bin Muhammad Al-Sabah Programme in International Relations, Regional Politics and Security and will have an outstanding international profile in research and teaching relevant to the Programme’s remit.
We particularly welcome applications from internationally recognised scholars working on international relations, regional politics and security, with expertise on the Middle East and the Gulf region. In keeping with the founding objectives of the Programme, areas of particular interest include the security of sovereign states, particularly smaller and more vulnerable states; international and regional security; interstate relations and conflict; external and internal security threats; crisis and security decision-making; and the roles of governments, diplomats, armed forces, international organisations and other actors in shaping regional and international security in the wider Middle East. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to pursue an ambitious and internationally significant research agenda in these areas and to contribute to a deeper understanding of the changing international and regional security environment.
A central component of the Chair will be to provide leadership for the Sheikh Nasser Bin Muhammad Al-Sabah Programme in International Relations, Regional Politics and Security. The post-holder will lead and enhance the Programme’s established research agenda, strengthen its international profile, and sustain and expand its extensive academic, policy and institutional links with Kuwait and other member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Chair will play a leading role in sustaining existing and developing new international research collaborations, conferences, symposia, publications and other activities and in further enhancing the Programme’s position as an internationally recognised centre of excellence in international relations, regional politics and security. This work is supported by funds dedicated to the al Sabah Chair.
The successful candidate will be expected to provide research leadership within SGIA and contribute to strengthening the School’s research community in international relations, security and Middle East politics, including through the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (IMEIS) and connections with other departments, institutes and centres across Durham University. They will be expected to sustain existing and develop new major national and international research collaborations and networks, pursue external research funding, and contribute to research engagement and impact with policymakers, practitioners and other non-academic communities.
The Chair will also make an important contribution to the School’s postgraduate and doctoral research environment. The successful candidate will attract and supervise outstanding PhD students working in international relations, regional politics and security; mentor postgraduate students and early career researchers; and contribute to strengthening Durham’s international postgraduate research community. The post-holder will also contribute excellent and research-led teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
This post offers an exceptional opportunity to lead the next phase of an established and ambitious international research programme and to make a major contribution to internationally excellent research and teaching in SGIA. It provides an opportunity for an established scholar to pursue a distinctive research agenda in international relations, regional politics and security, explore new and ambitious areas of research within the Programme’s remit, and strengthen Durham’s relationships with academic, policy and institutional partners in Kuwait, the Gulf and internationally.
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The Department
Since its founding in 2004, the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) has developed into one of the UK’s leading departments in Politics and International Relations. The School combines strong core disciplinary foundations with embedded regional expertise, reflecting a long-standing commitment to integrating area studies within mainstream political science and IR scholarship. SGIA is currently ranked among the top Politics departments in the UK by the Complete University Guide and is placed within the QS World University Rankings top 100 globally for Politics and International Studies.
We offer three single honours undergraduate programmes (BA Politics, BA International Relations, and BA Politics & International Relations), alongside joint honours degrees with Philosophy and Economics, and a PPE programme. We also contribute substantially to Combined Honours in Social Sciences and Liberal Arts pathways.
At postgraduate level, we offer a diverse portfolio of taught Master’s programmes, including practitioner-oriented MSc degrees. We are home to a vibrant postgraduate community of research students and taught postgraduate students. Across all levels, our teaching is explicitly research-led and supported by a highly international academic and student body, a defining strength of the School.
Demand for our programmes remains consistently high, attracting students of outstanding calibre who progress into careers across academia, government, international organisations, the private sector and civil society. Our strategic priorities include widening participation, enhancing diversity, strengthening international partnerships, and fostering a research-led learning community that equips students to address complex global challenges.
Our longstanding strengths in Middle East politics, international relations and security studies have been complemented by strategic investment in Comparative Politics, Political Theory, International Political Economy, and Global Security. Cross-cutting institutes, including the Durham Global Security Institute (DGSI) and the Global Policy Institute (GPI), have further strengthened interdisciplinary collaboration and external engagement.
Within the School, four core research groupings structure intellectual activity including Political Theory, Comparative Politics, International Politics and Security, and International Political Economy. These are complemented by cross-cutting institutes and centres, most prominently the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (IMEIS), which serves as a hub for collaborative research, international partnerships, policy engagement and impact activities. Our research culture is characterised by methodological pluralism and theoretical innovation.
SGIA maintains a distinctive reputation for expertise on the Middle East, North Africa and the wider Muslim World. The School hosts several major research initiatives, including the Sheikh Nasser Bin Muhammad Al-Sabah Programme in International Relations, Regional Politics and Security. Established in 2011, the Programme has developed an internationally recognised research agenda in international relations, regional politics and security, built academic and policy partnerships in the Gulf and internationally, and hosted and sponsored a wide range of international conferences, workshops and research activities. It has established a substantial publication portfolio, including its own in-house publication series with more than 45 publications, collaborations with international academic publishers, and major externally funded collaborative research projects. The Programme therefore provides an established platform from which the incoming Chair can lead its next phase of research, collaboration and international engagement. IMEIS also hosts the annual Sir William Luce Fellowship and other prestigious visiting fellowship schemes, as well as an annual international conference with a strong emphasis on early career researcher development. The al Sabah Chair is endowed with funding to support at least one PhD student (with overseas fees) at a time as well as an annual research allowance to support its activities.