Adam Roberts (scholar)


Sir Adam Roberts is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, a senior research fellow in Oxford University's Department of Politics and International Relations, and an emeritus fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.

Background

Roberts was born in Penrith, Cumbria, the son of the poet and teacher Michael Roberts and the writer and editor Janet Adam Smith. He went to Westminster School, London, 1953–8. He studied Modern History at Oxford University, 1959–62, winning the Stanhope Historical Essay Prize, 1961.

Career

Assistant Editor, Peace News, London, 1962–5. Noel Buxton Student in International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1965–8. Lecturer in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1968–81. Alastair Buchan Reader in International Relations at Oxford University, 1981–6. Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, 1986–2007.
With interests in civil resistance, international law, the United Nations, strategic studies, and the history of international relations, his publications include works on the United Nations and on Hugo Grotius jointly edited with Professor Benedict Kingsbury. Roberts was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1990, serving as its President. He served on the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies ; on the Council for Science and Technology ; and on the United Kingdom Defence Academy Advisory Board.
In 2002, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to the study and practice of international relations. He is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics & Political Science, of St Antony's College, Oxford, and of Cumbria University. He has a Guest Professorship at Nankai University, Tianjin, China ; and is Honorary Professor, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St Andrew's University. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by King's College London ; Aberdeen University ; Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, and Bath University. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 2011; and a Member, American Philosophical Society, 2013. His interests include mountaineering and cycling.
He has published articles in numerous journals, including American Journal of International Law, British Year Book of International Law, International Affairs, International Security, Review of International Studies, Survival and The Times Literary Supplement. His publications include:

Recent articles and book chapters