Chris Lyon

My research interests are at the meeting point between political theory and global development. I am interested in how (and to what extent) normative-political ideas such as justice and democracy apply in the context of development and aid, in the question of political realism vs. idealism, and in the various normative dilemmas inherent in development. I have related interests in the philosophy of social science, regarding the social ontology and causal status of relations, groups, and structure. My research interests strongly inform my teaching, which has tended to focus on the politics of development, democratisation, critical approaches to poverty, and research methods and theory.

I am a political theorist interested in questions of development. As such, my research examines the two-way relationship between political normativity - ideas such as justice, democracy, and political realism/idealism - and development.

I teach mainly on IDD's politics of development modules, as well as leading our distance learning programme. I currently organise the 'Governance and Politics of Development' research group, and collaborated on the department's recent book.

Previously, at the University of Manchester, I was a research associate at the ‘Effective States and Inclusive Development’ research centre. My PhD, also at Manchester, was “Towards a relational approach to social justice: liberals, radicals, and Brazil’s ‘new social contract’.”

I took a somewhat unusual route to international development, studying philosophy and music at Edinburgh, but became interested in development and international politics through activism in the area of UK asylum policy.

PhD Global Development and Political Theory, 2018, University of Manchester