Chris Lyon

My research interests are at the meeting point between political theory and global development, and also involve related issues in the philosophy of social science. I am interested in political theories of justice and democracy, and how they apply in the context of development, and in related normative dilemmas faced by development actors. My teaching has tended to focus on the politics of development, democratisation, critical approaches to poverty, and research methods and theory.

I joined Birmingham in October 2021. I have taught mainly on IDD's politics of development modules, and participated in politics and democracy research groups, as well as collaborating on the department's forthcoming book on the politics of development. I arrived from the University of Manchester, where I taught in similar areas, as well as working as a research associate at the ‘Effective States and Inclusive Development’ research centre. My PhD, 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