• KY16 9AX

    United Kingdom

Accepting Postgraduate Research Students

PhD projects

International Political Theory; Global Constitutionalism; International Law; International Organizations; Human Rights; Just War

Personal profile

Research overview

Professor Lang's research focuses on the intersection of politics, law and ethics at the global level. These themes are explored through the lens of global constitutionalism, human rights, international responsibility, and the just war tradition. Within these different areas, Professor Lang has focused on issues such as global constituent power, international organizations, international law, and military intervention. His work has drawn on 20th century figures such as Hans Morgenthau, Hannah Arendt, and Judith Shklar, and historical figures such as Aristotle and Hugo Grotius.

Professor Lang's previous work has addressed international political theory, with a particular focus on questions of agency, responsibility and punishment. These theoretical questions have been explored through various global practices such as humanitarian intervention, international security strategy, war crimes, and counter terrorism policy.

Research interests

Professor Lang's research interests include: global constitutionalism, human rights, international legal theory, international judiciaries, international criminal law, international responsibility, Middle East politics, US foreign policy and global order, realist theory, history of constitutionalism, and international legislatures.

Other expertise

Professor Lang has expertise in US foreign policy, Middle East politics, Egyptian politics, humanitarian intervention, international political theory, and international criminal law.

Future research

Professor Lang intends to explore the role of science in global public policy; narratives of war; higher education and politics; and literature and international relations.

Industrial relevance

Professor Lang has worked in the non-profit sector as a programme officer, with a focus on religious organizations and international affairs; professional military education; and integration of ethics into social science curricula. Professsor Lang has advised church groups on the just war tradition; the UNODC on ethics and human rights; and the UK Ministry of Defense on military ethics.

Biography

Professor Anthony F Lang, Jr. holds a Chair in International Political Theory in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He received his BA in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1990 and his MA and PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1996. He was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo from 1996 through 2000. From 2000 through 2003, he served as a Programme Officer at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he directed programmes on ethics and the use of force, religion and US Foreign Policy, and ethics in higher education. Prior to arriving in St Andrews in 2004, he taught courses at Albright College, Yale University, and Bard College.

He is one of the founding editors of the scholarly journal, Global Constitutionalism. He now serves on its editorial board, along with the boards of Ethics & International Affairs and the Journal of International Political Theory. He has been active in the International Studies Association (ISA), serving as President of the International Ethics section (2003-2004), Programme Chair for the Human Rights Section (2006-2008), Chair of the International Ethics Book Prize Committee (2009-2011), and Chair of the Academic Freedom Committee (2016-2018). He has served as a consultant for the UNODC on ethics in higher education and the UK Ministry of Defense on ethical and legal issues. He has been an external examiner for academic programmes at the LSE, Edinburgh University, Durham University, and Glasgow University. He has examined PhD students at numerous institutions in the UK, Germany and Norway.

Within the University of St Andrews, he founded the Centre for Global Constitutionalism in 2007 and directed it until 2016. He has served as the Head of School (2016-2019) for the School of International Relations, along with numerous other roles in the School. He teaches modules on international political theory, ethics and the use of force, global constitutionalism, and other themes and topics in international relations and political theory.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

  • JC Political theory
  • JF Political institutions (General)
  • JX International law
  • JZ International relations
  • KZ Law of Nations

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