Welcome! I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews, where I serve as Co-Director of the Centre for Global Constitutionalism and on the Steering Committee of the Institute for Legal and Constitutional Research. From 1 July – 31 December 2018 I was a Visiting Scholar at the College of Europe Natolin campus in Warsaw, Poland. I was previously a SSHRC Canada Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations and Non-Stipendiary Research Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford (2013-15), and a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy (2012-13). I hold a PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
My research broadly concerns the interaction of international law and political forces in shaping outcomes in world politics. Theoretically, I examine how legal institutions instantiate new social expectations about appropriate behaviour (norms) in the international system. Empirically, I explore this theme principally in the fields of disarmament and international humanitarian and criminal law. My teaching interests are informed by this research agenda, and span IR theory, international law, and international organisations and governance.