![Oliver Pierce](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/2342?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
My work primarily concerns itself with arguments regarding the structure of the international order, the purchase that normative arguments press against this, and what the realities of this system require appreciation of when seeking to answer the tough questions that international politics bring to the fore. As such, my work crosses multiple theoretical jurisdictions including International Law, International Relations and International Political Theory - all whilst attempting to provide coherent and compelling syntheses between these.
My PhD thesis, titled "Humanisation and the Normative Evolution of International Society" explores arguments concerning the changing structure of the international order under pressure from legalised human rights norms. I reject assertions of incipient hierarchy whilst exploring how normative evolutions can and do occur under conditions of heterarchy.
Subsequent work has sought to understand the relationship between British politics and International Law, exploring the ways in which issues in and of International Law are becoming part of the everyday life of British political discourse.
Publication
2022
- Pierce, O. 2022. Humanisation and the normative evolution of international society. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Thesis
- Pierce, O. 2022. Humanisation and the normative evolution of international society. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Research
My research heads in different directions ranging from normative questions posed by the legalisation of human rights and contemporary understandings of sovereignty, to topics concerning the intersect of British politics and International Law. I am currently finalising a monograph that draws from my PhD thesis.
Pierce, O. 2021. Legal Order, UK-EU Legal Relations and the Foundations of International Law [Online]. Available at: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/legal-order-uk-eu-international-law/
Pierce, O. and Sutch, P. 2023. Practicing Humanity: Humanisation and Contemporary International Political Theory. In: Boucher, D. et al. Palgrave Handbook of International Political Theory.
Teaching
Cardiff University
Year One:
Introduction to International Relations.
Introduction to Political Thought.
Introduction to Political Science.
Introduction to Government.
Introduction to European Integration.
Year Two.
International Law in a Changing World.
Global Justice
British Politics and International Law (Module convener)
International Security
Year Three.
Justice, Legitimacy and International Law.
Global International Organisations.
US Government and Politics.
University of Bristol
Post-graduate
International Security
Biography
2012 - Present: Cardiff University
BscEcon Politics and International Relations.
Msc International Relations (Distinction).
PhD (scholarship) International Relations