Core Members

Dr Sasikumar S. Sundaram 
Senior Lecturer in International Politics

Dr Sasikumar S. Sundaram’s main research interests lie in International Relations Theory; Status and Reputation concerns of Global South states, with special reference to India, Brazil, and China; and critical geopolitics of Sino-Indian rivalry on global order.

Professor Inderjeet Parmar
Professor of International Politics

Professor Parmar’s research interests focus on the history, politics and sociology of Anglo-American foreign policy elites over the past 100 years, specifically embodied in organisations such as philanthropic foundations, think tanks, policy research institutes, university foreign affairs institutes, and state agencies.

Dr Francesco Rigoli
Reader in Psychology

Dr Rigoli’s research examines the psychological processes underlying broad cultural phenomena such as in politics and in religion. These areas are investigated adopting a multidisciplinary approach integrating computational modelling, cognitive neuroscience, and sociology. 

Dr Begum Zorlu
Research Fellow in International Politics

Dr Begum Zorlu is an ESRC Research Fellow at City St George’s, University of London and her work focuses on the political opposition in Turkey and Venezuela, the dynamics of solidarity and contestation in International Relations and the changing landscape of warfare. She is the co-chair of the Political Studies Association Turkish Politics Specialist Group.

Saeid Rahanjam
Research Student

Saeid Rahanjam is a research student at City St George’s, University of London. His research agenda aims to contribute to management scholarship, focusing on business and society studies. In particular, he explores the interactions between public and private actors within sustainability governance to develop a theoretical basis for more effective governance practices that can confront today’s sustainability challenges.

Fellows

Professor Amitav Acharya

Amitav Acharya is Distinguished Professor of Global Governance at American University’s School of International Service and Honorary Visiting Professor at City St George’s, University of London. His books include The Once and Future World Order (2025), The Making of Global International Relations (2019, with Barry Buzan), and Constructing Global Order (2018). His work has appeared in leading journals such as International Organization, Foreign Affairs, and World Politics. He is recognised for advancing Global International Relations (Global IR) theory and for his scholarship on world order, civilisational analysis, and Asian security.

Dr Leonardo Ramos

Leonardo Ramos is currently an Associate Professor of International Relations at Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC Minas), Brazil, and has been a visiting scholar at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR). His current research topics include BRICS, emerging countries, and the crisis of the international liberal order. His publications include: Caesarism, populism, and the 2018 election in Brazil (2019, Capital & Class); The BRICS International Security Agenda (2009–2019) (2021, Dados—with Pedro Rocha and Danny Zahreddine); The role of declining Brazil and ascending China in the BRICS initiative (2019, In: Li Xing. (Org.). The international political economy of the BRICS. Routledge—with Javier Vadell).

Dr Daniela Vieira Secches

Daniela Vieira Secches coordinates and is one of the founders of the Russia-Latin America Observatory (Ruslat). She has a PhD in International Relations (IR) from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC Minas). She earned her Master in Political Science from Masaryk University, Czech Republic, and holds undergraduate degrees in IR from PUC Minas and in Law from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). She coordinates and teaches at the Undergraduate Program in IR, and is a permanent professor in the Graduate Program in IR at PUC Minas. She serves as a member of the Brazilian Association of International Relations directive board (ABRI, 2023-2025). Her areas of interest include Eastern European States, and discussions of theory and method in IR.

Partners

Susan Coughtrie

Susan Coughtrie has been Director of the Foreign Policy Centre since January 2023, after previously serving as Deputy Director from July 2022. Susan joined FPC in July 2020 as Project Director for the Unsafe for Scrutiny project, which explores the risks and threats facing journalists uncovering financial crime and corruption. The findings of this research led Susan to co-found the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition in January 2021, which she continues to co-chair. Susan has undertaken a variety of consultancy work in the media sphere, having previously worked at the international free expression organisation ARTICLE 19 from 2012-2018, as an advisor to the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) from 2019-2022, and served as a board member for the Scottish investigative media outlet The Ferret from 2020-22. Susan is a Trustee for the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFoIS) and a member of the Advisory Board for Crossroads Central Asia, a think tank based in Kyrgyzstan. In 2024, she was appointed as a Honorary Fellow at City St George’s, University of London.

Dr. Ahmed Waqas Waheed

Dr. Ahmed Waqas Waheed has a Masters in International Relations from the University of Sussex, UK and a PhD in Political Science from Queen Mary University of London, UK. He has published widely including two books: The Wrong Ally: Pakistan’s State Sovereignty under US Dependence and Constructing Pakistan through Knowledge Production in International Relations and Area Studies. He has also delivered academic and policy-oriented lectures and seminars at national and international forums.

Atul Bhardwaj

Atul Bhardwaj is Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of International Politics at the City St George’s, University of London. He is the author of India-America Relations (1942-62): Rooted in the Liberal International Order.