Famous Alumni

Politics and International Relations at Oxford has a long and distinguished history, which is reflected in the number of famous alumni from around the world who have studied here over the years.

Please email the Department's Alumni Relations Team if you feel we should add an individual to the list of notable alumni below.

  • Famous alumni
    • Riz Ahmed
      PPE, 2003,
      British Pakistani musician and actor.
       
    • Danny Alexander
      PPE, 1971,
      Former British Liberal Democrat politician.
       
    • Rushanara Ali
      PPE, 1993,
      British Labour MP.
       
    • Tariq Ali
      PPE, 1961,
      British-Pakistani political activist and journalist.
       
    • Zeinab Badawi
      PPE, 1978,
      BBC television and radio journalist.
       
    • Ed Balls
      PPE, 1985,
      Former British Labour politician.
       
    • Peter Beinart
      MPhil, 1993,
      US journalist and author.
       
    • Tony Benn
      PPE, 1942,
      British Labour politician.
       
    • Isaiah Berlin
      PPE, 1928,
      British social and political theorist.
       
    • Benazir Bhutto
      PPE, 1973,
      Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988-90 & 1993-1996).
       
    • William J. Burns
      DPhil, 1978,
      US diplomat.
    • David Cameron
      PPE, 1985,
      Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2016)
       
    • John Chipman
      DPhil, 1980,
      Director-General and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
       
    • Wesley Clark
      PPE, 1966,
      US Army General, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO (1997-2000).
       
    • Bill Clinton
      1968,
      President of the United States (1992-2000).
       
    • Yvette Cooper
      PPE, 1987,
      British Labour politician.
       
    • Edwina Currie
      PPE, 1965,
      British Conservative politician.
       
    • Evan Davis
      PPE, 1981,
      BBC journalist and presenter.
       
    • Christopher Dell
      MPhil, 1978,
      US diplomat.
       
    • David Dimbleby
      PPE, 1958,
      BBC television presenter.

     

    • Michele Flournoy
      1983,
      Former US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy.
       
    • Michael Foot
      PPE, 1931,
      Former British Labour party leader.
       
    • Malcolm Fraser
      PPE, 1949,
      Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983).
       
    • Peter Galbraith
      PPE, 1973,
      US academic and diplomat.
       
    • Geoff Gallop
      PPE, 1972,
      Australian academic and Labour politician.
       
    • Krishnan Guru-Murthy
      PPE, 1969,
      Channel 4 television presenter and journalist.
       
    • Richard Haass
      MSc, 1973,
      US diplomat and President of the Council on Foreign Relations.
       
    • William Hague
      PPE, 1979,
      British Conservative politician and peer.
       
    • Robert Hawke
      PPE, 1953,
      Prime Minister of Australia (1983-91).
       
    • Edward Heath
      PPE, 1935,
      Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1970-74).
       
    • Christopher Hitchens
      PPE, 1967,
      British-American journalist and author.
       
    • Roy Jenkins
      PPE, 1938,
      British Labour and Social Democratic Party politician.
       
    • Elena Kagan
      MPhil, 1981,
      US Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
       
    • Imran Khan
      PPE, 1972,
      Prime Minister of Pakistan and former cricketer.
       
    • Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
      PPE, 1956,
      Prime Minister of Peru (2005-06).
       
    • John Kufuor
      PPE, 1961,
      President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-09)
       
    • Nigel Lawson
      PPE, 1951,
      Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer and Conservative politician.
       
    • Farooq Leghari
      PPE, 1961,
      President of Pakistan (1993-97).
       
    • Rachel Maddow
      DPhil, 1995,
      US television host and political commentator.
       
    • Sujata Manohar
      PPE, 1954,
      Judge of the Supreme Court of India (1994-99).
       
    • Michael McFaul
      DPhil, 1986,
      US academic and diplomat.
       
    • David Miliband
      PPE, 1984,
      Former British Foreign Minister and Labour politician; current Chief Executive of the International Rescue Committee.
       
    • Ed Miliband
      PPE, 1989,
      British Labour politician and former party leader.
       
    • Nadar Mousavizadeh
      MPhil, 1992,
      Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Analytica.
       
    • Rupert Murdoch
      PPE, 1950,
      Founder of the News Corporation.
       
    • Tony Newton
      PPE, 1955,
      British Conservative politician.
       
    • Nicholas Oppenheimer
      PPE, 1964,
      Chairman of the De Beers diamond mining company.
       
    • Brian Paddick
      PPE, 1983,
      Deputy Assistant Commissioner, London Metropolitan Police (1976-2007).
       
    • Robert Peston
      PPE, 1979,
      ITV television journalist.
       
    • James Purnell
      PPE, 1988,
      British broadcaster and former Labour politician.
       
    • Bob Rae
      Other, 1969,
      Canadian lawyer, author and former politician. Premier of Ontario (1990-1995), Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (2011-2013).
       
    • Susan Rice
      1986,
      US diplomat.
       
    • Aung San Suu Kyi
      PPE, 1964,
      Burmese activist and leader of the National League for Democracy.
       
    • Will Self
      PPE, 1979,
      British novelist and commentator.
       
    • Vikram Seth
      PPE, 1971,
      Indian poet and author.
       
    • Radoslaw Sikorski
      PPE, 1983,
      Polish MEP and journalist.
       
    • Matias Spektor
      DPhil, 2007,
      Brazilian academic, author and commentator.
       
    • Harald V of Norway
      1960,
      King of Norway.
       
    • Abhisit Vejjajiva
      PPE, 1983,
      Prime Minister of Thailand (2005-08).
       
    • Ann Widdecombe
      PPE, 1969,
      British Brexit Party MEP and former Conservative politician.
       
    • Shirley Williams
      PPE, 1948,
      British Liberal Democrat politician.
       
    • Harold Wilson
      PPE, 1936,
      Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1964-70, 1974-76).
       
    • Mara Yamauchi
      PPE, 1992,
      British Olympic athlete.

Alumni academics

Some students go on to careers within academia - please see below a list of alumni who hold a DPhil from the Department or from its predecessor, the Sub-Faculty of Politics, and have gone on to academic posts around the world

These lists are a work in progress. If your name should be removed or added to the list please let us know by emailing the Department's Alumni Relations Team

  • Political Theory Network alumni
    • Raphael Cohen-Almagor - Professor of Politics, University of Hull
    • Robin Archer - Professor, London School of Economics
    • Daniel Attas - Associate Professor of Philosophy, Economics and Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    • Alice Baderin - Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Reading
    • Rochana Bajpai - Associate Professor of Politics School of Oriental and African Studies
    • Ayelet Banai - Assistant Professor of Politics, University of Haifa
    • Ronald Beiner - Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto
    • Daniel Bell - Chair Professor of the Schwarzman Scholar Program,Tsinghua University, Beijing
    • Erica Benner - Fellow in Political Philosophy, Yale University
    • Laurie Bernotsky - Professor & Director of the MPA Program, Department of Political Science, West Chester University
    • Mark Bevir - Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for British Studies, University of California, Berkeley
    • Paul Billingham - Associate Professor of Political Theory, DPIR, University of Oxford; Fellow and Tutor in Politics, Magdalen College, University of Oxford
    • Charles Blattberg - Professor of Political Philosophy, Université de Montréal
    • Adrian Blau - Senior Lecturer in Politics, King's College
    • Martijn Boot - Associate Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University  
    • Daniel Butt - Associate Professor of Political Theory and MPhil in Political Theory Course Director, Balliol College, University of Oxford
    • Simon Caney - Professor in Political Theory, University of Warwick
    • Clare Chambers - University Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Fellow of Jesus College, University of Cambridge
    • Joseph Chan - Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Hong Kong
    • James Christensen - Lecturer in Politics, University of Essex
    • Simon Clarke - Associate Professor in the Program in Political Science and International Affairs at the American University of Armenia
    • Matthew Clayton - Associate Professor of Political Theory, University of Warwick
    • Alexandra Couto - Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Mind in Nature, at the University of Oslo
    • Jack Crittenden - Associate Professor, Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University
    • George Crowder - Professor, Politics and Public Policy, Flinders University
    • Angela Cummine - British Academy Post-doctoral Fellow in Political Theory and Associate Fellow of New College, University of Oxford
    • Laurence Davis - Lecturer in Government, University College Cork
    • Teun Dekker - Lecturer, University College Maastricht
    • Avner De-Shalit - Professor of Democracy and Human Rights, Hebrew University of Jerusalem 
    • Janina Dill - Associate Professor in International Relations, University of Oxford
    • Andrew Dobson - Professor of Politics, Keele University
    • Keith Dowding - Professor of Political Science, Australian National University
    • Gideon Elford - Departmental Lecturer in Political Theory, New College, University of Oxford
    • Chikako Endo - Associate Professor, School of Human Sciences Osaka University
    • Mark Evans - Reader in Political and Cultural Studies, Swansea University 
    • Nir Eyal - Associate Professor in Global Health and Social Medicine (Medical Ethics), Harvard Medical School
    • Cécile Fabre - Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, University of Oxford
    • John Filling - Teaching Fellow in Political Theory, University College London
    • Sarah Fine - University Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy and Fellow, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
    • Elizabeth Finneron-Burns - Teaching Fellow, PAIS, University of Warwick
    • Joey Fishkin - Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Law
    • Dov Fox - Assistant Professor of Law, University of San Diego
    • Elizabeth Frazer - Associate Professor of Politics, Official Fellow, New College, University of Oxford
    • Graeme Garrard - Reader in Political Theory at University of Cardiff
    • Robert Goodin - Professor of Government at the University of Essex and Distinguished Professor of Social & Political Theory and Philosophy at Australian National University
    • Barbara Goodwin - Emeritus Professor, University of East Anglia
    • Uri Gordon - Lecturer in Politics, Loughborough University
    • Kerah Gordon-Solmon - Assistant Professor, Queen's University
    • Leslie Green - Professor of the Philosophy of Law and Fellow of Balliol College
    • Shivi Greenfield - Research Fellow, Chazan Center for Social Justice and Democracy, Van-Leer Institute
    • James Hampshire - Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Sussex
    • Sarah Hannan - Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba
    • Lisa Herzog - Professor of Political Philosophy, University of Groningen
    • Clare Heyward - Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Warwick
    • Lisa Hill - Professor of Politics, University of Adelaide
    • Kei Hiruta - Associate Faculty Member, Faculty of Philosophy, The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
    • Ian Holliday - Vice-President, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) and Professor, University of Hong Kong
    • Jeff Howard - Lecturer in Political Theory, University College London
    • Mathew Humphrey - Professor in Political Philosophy, University of Nottingham
    • Kevin Ka-Wai Ip - Assistant Professor at the Department of Government and International Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
    • Maidul Islam - Assistant Professor of Political Science, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
    • Ben Jackson - Associate Professor of Modern History, Tutorial Fellow, University College, University of Oxford
    • Peter Jones - Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy, Newcastle University
    • Robert Jubb - Lecturer in Political Theory, University of Reading
    • Ruth Kinna - Professor of Political Theory, Loughborough University
    • Alexandros Kioupkiolis - Lecturer in Political Theory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
    • Daniel Kofman - Professor in Philosophy, University of Ottawa
    • Ayako Komine - Postdoctoral Fellow, The Graduate School of East Asian Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
    • Chandran Kukathas - Dean, School of Social Sciences; Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science, Singapore Management University
    • Faik Kurtulmus - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University
    • Cécile Laborde - Professor in Political Theory, Nuffield College, University of Oxford
    • Seth Lazar - Faculty of Philosophy, Australian National University
    • Hugh Lazenby - Lecturer in Political Philosophy, University of Glasgow
    • Jon Leader Maynard - Lecturer in International Politics, King's College London
    • David Leopold - Associate Professor of Political Theory, Fellow of Mansfield College, University of Oxford
    • Meira Levinson - Professor of Education, Harvard University
    • Christian List - Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, London School of Economics
    • Daniel Luban - Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University
    • Terry MacDonald- Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Melbourne
    • Erik Magnusson - Postdoctoral Fellow, Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
    • Andrew March - Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard
    • Andrew Mason - Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick
    • Helen McCabe - Assistant Professor in Political Theory, University of Nottingham
    • Daniel McDermott - Associate Professor of Political Theory and Tutorial Fellow of Keble College, University of Oxford
    • James Meadowcroft - Professor of Political Science, Cartleton University
    • Tamar Meisels - Professor of Government and Policy, Tel Aviv University
    • David Miller - Professor of Political Theory and Official Fellow of Nuffield College, University of Oxford
    • Giles Moss - Director of Student Education, Lecturer in Media Policy, School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds
    • Karma Nabulsi- Tutor in Politics, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
    • Vicki Nash - Deputy Director and Policy and Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
    • Edmund Neill - Lecturer in Modern History, New College of the Humanities
    • Kieran Oberman - Fellow in Politics, University of Edinburgh
    • Serena Olsaretti - Research Professor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
    • Michael Otsuka - Professor of Philosophy, London School of Economics
    • Avia Pasternak - Lecturer in Global Ethics, University College London
    • Carole Pateman - Honorary Professor, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University
    • Alan Patten - Professor of Politics, Princeton University
    • Paul Petzschmann - Lecturer and Research Associate in European Studies, Carleton College
    • Mark Philp - Professor, University of Warwick
    • Jonathan Quong - Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Southern California
    • Andrew Reeve - Professor of Politics, University of Warwick
    • Miriam Ronzoni - Senior Lecturer in Political Theory, University of Manchester
    • Klem Ryan - Senior Development Coordination Officer for the United Nations    
    • Michael Sandel - Professor of Government, Harvard University
    • Ben Saunders - Associate Professor in Political Philosophy, University of Southampton
    • Hans Schattle - Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Yonsei University, Seoul
    • Christian Schemmel - Lecturer in Political Theory, University of Manchester
    • Darrow Schecter - Reader in Italian (History, Centre for Social and Political Thought), University of Sussex
    • Micah Schwartzman - Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
    • Shlomi Segall - Associate Professor of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    • Ronen Shnayderman - Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Hamburg
    • Vicki Spencer - University of Otago
    • Marc Stears - Director of the Sydney Policy Lab, University of Sydney
    • Zofia Stemplowska - Associate Professor of Political Theory, Asa Briggs Fellow, Worcester College, University of Oxford
    • Julie Suk - Professor, Sociology; Professor, Political Science; Professor, M.A. in Liberal Studies, City University of New York and Visiting at Yale
    • Adam Swift - Professor of Political Theory/Political Philosophy, University College London
    • Christine Sypnowich - Professor, Queen's University
    • Gayil Talshir - Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    • Patti Tamara Lenard - Associate Professor, University of Ottawa
    • Charles Taylor - Professor Emeritus, McGill University
    • Isaac Taylor - Fellow at Freedom and Security Scholar, Center for Values and Social Policy, University of Colorado
    • Simon Thompson - Associate Professor at the University of the West of England
    • Patrick Tomlin - Associate Professor, University of Reading
    • Tiziana Torresi - Lecturer, Politics and International Studies, University of Adelaide
    • Laurence Van Apeldoorn - Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, Open University, the Netherlands
    • Bas Van der Vossen - Associate Professor, Director, Law and the Liberal Arts Minor Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, Chapman University
    • Frank Vandenbroucke - Professor at the KU Leuven, teaches at the Universities of Antwerp and Amsterdam
    • Ashwini Vasanthakumar - Associate Professor and Queen’s National Scholar in Legal and Political Philosophy, Queen's University Canada
    • Juri Viehoff - Research Fellow, Research Priority Program for Ethics, University of Zurich
    • Kristin Voigt - Assistant Professor, McGill University
    • Nicholas Vrousalis- Lecturer in Political Philosophy, Leiden University
    • Katy Wells - Assistant Professor in Political Theory, University of Warwick
    • Jan-Werner Müller - Founding Director, Project in the History of Political Thought, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University
    • Karl Philip Widerquist - Associate Professor, SFS-Qatar
    • Martin Wilkinson - Associate Professor, Department of Political Studies, University of Auckland
    • Stephen Winter - Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Auckland
    • Caleb Yong - Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
    • Alexa Zellentin - Lecturer in Political Theory, University College Dublin

Alumni news

Please find below the latest news and media related to our Alumni. We welcome any news items about our Alumni. Please email the Department's Alumni Relations Team.