Dr Haro Karkour
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Haro Karkour
Senior Lecturer in International Relations
Overview
I am an IR theorist, with a current research focus on postcolonial and classical realist theory. My articles appeared in Review of International Studies, International Studies Review, International Political Sociology, International Affairs, International Relations, Journal of International Political Theory and European Journal of International Relations. My monograph, published with Palgrave Macmilllan (2022), is titled E. H. Carr: Imperialism, War and Lessons for Postcolonial IR.
Publication
2025
- Karkour, H. 2025. Revisiting the ‘darker side’ of democratic peace: Morgenthau, reflexivity and the role of scholars in times of deception. Review of International Studies
2024
- Karkour, H. 2024. History of the future: Classical realism and Trump. [Online]. E-International Relations: Available at: https://www.e-ir.info/2024/11/26/history-of-the-future-classical-realism-and-trump/
- Karkour, H. and Rösch, F. 2024. Towards IR’s "fifth debate": racial justice and the national interest in classical realism. International Studies Review 26(2), article number: viae030. (10.1093/isr/viae030)
- Karkour, H. 2024. Reactionary idealism in British foreign policy. [Online]. ahramonline: Al-Ahram Weekly. Available at: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/4/0/525237/Opinion//Reactionary-idealism-in-British-foreign-policy.aspx
2023
- Karkour, H. and Vieira, M. 2023. An autoethnography of hybrid IR scholars: De-territorialising the Global IR debate. International Political Sociology 17(3), article number: olad015. (10.1093/ips/olad015)
- Karkour, H. 2023. Nationalism and climate cooperation. Al-Ahram Weekly 2023, article number: 31Aug.
- Karkour, H. 2023. From the Twenty Years’ Crisis to the climate crisis: Reconsidering Carr’s thoughts on nationalism and global reform. Journal of International Political Theory, pp. 1-18. (10.1177/17550882231168906)
2022
- Karkour, H. 2022. At stake in the Taiwan crisis. Ahram Online 2022(30 Aug)
- Karkour, H. 2022. E. H. Carr: Imperialism, war and lessons for post-colonial IR. Palgrave Studies in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Karkour, H. 2022. Liberal modernity and the classical realist critique of the (present) international order. International Affairs 98(2), pp. 569-586. (10.1093/ia/iiac006)
- Karkour, H. 2022. Why participatory foreign policy is vital for liberal democracy’s survival. [Online]. medium.com/international-affairs-blog/: International Affairs blog. Available at: https://medium.com/international-affairs-blog/why-participatory-foreign-policy-is-vital-for-liberal-democracys-survival-6cfb12db4777
2021
- Karkour, H. L. 2021. Illiberal and irrational? Trump and the challenge of liberal modernity in US foreign policy. International Relations 35(4), pp. 533-550. (10.1177/0047117820954231)
- Karkour, H. L. 2021. Debating global justice with Carr: The crisis of laissez faire and the legitimacy problem in the twenty-first century. Journal of International Political Theory 17(1), pp. 81-98. (10.1177/1755088219838295)
2020
- Karkour, H. L. and Giese, D. 2020. Bringing Morgenthau's ethics in: pluralism, incommensurability and the turn from fragmentation to dialogue in IR. European Journal of International Relations 26(4), pp. 1106-1128. (10.1177/1354066120934044)
- Karkour, H. 2020. Would Biden make a difference?. [Online]. Ahram Online: Ahram. Available at: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/366799/Opinion/Would-Biden-make-a-difference.aspx
2018
- Karkour, H. L. 2018. Unipolarity’s unpeacefulness and US foreign policy: consequences of a ‘coherent system of irrationality’. International Relations 32(1), pp. 60-79. (10.1177/0047117817726363)
Articles
- Karkour, H. 2025. Revisiting the ‘darker side’ of democratic peace: Morgenthau, reflexivity and the role of scholars in times of deception. Review of International Studies
- Karkour, H. and Rösch, F. 2024. Towards IR’s "fifth debate": racial justice and the national interest in classical realism. International Studies Review 26(2), article number: viae030. (10.1093/isr/viae030)
- Karkour, H. and Vieira, M. 2023. An autoethnography of hybrid IR scholars: De-territorialising the Global IR debate. International Political Sociology 17(3), article number: olad015. (10.1093/ips/olad015)
- Karkour, H. 2023. Nationalism and climate cooperation. Al-Ahram Weekly 2023, article number: 31Aug.
- Karkour, H. 2023. From the Twenty Years’ Crisis to the climate crisis: Reconsidering Carr’s thoughts on nationalism and global reform. Journal of International Political Theory, pp. 1-18. (10.1177/17550882231168906)
- Karkour, H. 2022. At stake in the Taiwan crisis. Ahram Online 2022(30 Aug)
- Karkour, H. 2022. Liberal modernity and the classical realist critique of the (present) international order. International Affairs 98(2), pp. 569-586. (10.1093/ia/iiac006)
- Karkour, H. L. 2021. Illiberal and irrational? Trump and the challenge of liberal modernity in US foreign policy. International Relations 35(4), pp. 533-550. (10.1177/0047117820954231)
- Karkour, H. L. 2021. Debating global justice with Carr: The crisis of laissez faire and the legitimacy problem in the twenty-first century. Journal of International Political Theory 17(1), pp. 81-98. (10.1177/1755088219838295)
- Karkour, H. L. and Giese, D. 2020. Bringing Morgenthau's ethics in: pluralism, incommensurability and the turn from fragmentation to dialogue in IR. European Journal of International Relations 26(4), pp. 1106-1128. (10.1177/1354066120934044)
- Karkour, H. L. 2018. Unipolarity’s unpeacefulness and US foreign policy: consequences of a ‘coherent system of irrationality’. International Relations 32(1), pp. 60-79. (10.1177/0047117817726363)
Books
- Karkour, H. 2022. E. H. Carr: Imperialism, war and lessons for post-colonial IR. Palgrave Studies in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan.
Websites
- Karkour, H. 2024. History of the future: Classical realism and Trump. [Online]. E-International Relations: Available at: https://www.e-ir.info/2024/11/26/history-of-the-future-classical-realism-and-trump/
- Karkour, H. 2024. Reactionary idealism in British foreign policy. [Online]. ahramonline: Al-Ahram Weekly. Available at: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/4/0/525237/Opinion//Reactionary-idealism-in-British-foreign-policy.aspx
- Karkour, H. 2022. Why participatory foreign policy is vital for liberal democracy’s survival. [Online]. medium.com/international-affairs-blog/: International Affairs blog. Available at: https://medium.com/international-affairs-blog/why-participatory-foreign-policy-is-vital-for-liberal-democracys-survival-6cfb12db4777
- Karkour, H. 2020. Would Biden make a difference?. [Online]. Ahram Online: Ahram. Available at: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/366799/Opinion/Would-Biden-make-a-difference.aspx
Research
My research engages with postcolonial and classical realist theory, and currently applies them to debates in
1] US foreign policy and the crisis of the liberal order: my 2018 and 2021 International Relations articles present a critique of military interventionism in post-Cold War US foreign policy. In 2022, I published an article with International Affairs and a book with Palgrave Macmillan, where I engage with IR theory and the debate on the crisis of the liberal order.
2] Global and climate justice. I have published 2 articles with Journal of International Political Theory (2021; 2023), where I engage with E. H. Carr’s theoretical work and apply it to contemporary debates on global justice and the climate crisis.
3] IR as a discipline. I have a publication with the European Journal of International Relations where I engage with the debate on the fragmentation of IR as a discipline. More recently, in co-authored International Studies Review and International Political Sociology articles (with Dr Felix Roesch and Dr Marco Vieira respectively) I engage with the debates on race and diversifying IR.
I also disseminate my research via op-eds, blog posts and videos to prospective IR students, policymakers and the wider public. All my posts are available in the link to my blog on the right hand side.
Current projects include
- Palestine and Ukraine: a postcolonial critique of the neo-realist strategy of offshore balancing
- Fanon on climate and health science
Teaching
Term 1:
- PL9195 Intro to IR
- PLT050 Issues in IR
Term 2:
- PL9355 After the West
- PLT062 Research Methods
Biography
I am a Senior Lecturer in International Relations. Previously I held teaching positions in the University of Leicester, the University of Birmingham and Queen Mary, University of London.
Supervisions
I welcome enquires from prospective doctoral applicants in my research specialisms. In particular, I am interested in supervising projects in the following areas:
1] Theories of IR (including intellectual history of the discipline and contemporary theoretical debates)
2] Contemporary US foreign policy (including liberal order, US-Sino competition, NATO and Russia, and US involvement in the Middle East)
3] Debates in international political theory on global/climate justice, and the relationship between nationalism and climate change
Current supervision

Alex Robinson
Contact Details
Specialisms
- IR theory
- global / climate justice
- contemporary US foreign policy