Dr Lucy Ford

BA (Hons), MA, DPhil

Senior Lecturer in International Relations

School of Law and Social Sciences

Role

Lucy Ford joined Brookes in 2002. She is part-time Senior Lecturer in International Relations. Lucy has a first degree in Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent at Canterbury and an MA and DPhil in International Relations from Sussex University. Prior to Brookes she worked as researcher and parliamentary assistant in the European Parliament in Brussels. Lucy helped set up the subject of International Relations at undergraduate and postgraduate level and acted as director of the MA in 2004-2005 and subject coordinator for International Relations from 2009-2017. Her research interests in global political ecology transcend the discipline International Relations to include political economy, political thought, geography, anthropology, sociology and psychology.

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

Undergraduate

  • INRL4002: Introduction to IR 2: Themes and Issues (level 4)
  • INRL6008: Global Ecological Crisis pathway (level 6 honours)

Postgraduate

  • INRL7001: International Relations in Theory and Practice
  • INRL7014: International Relations in Theory and Practice (Distance Learning)
  • INRL7004: Global Ecological Crisis

Supervision

Supervision

Lucy would particularly welcome projects on critical international theory particularly critical political ecology and ecopsychology.

Completed theses:

  • Duncan Green (2010) 'Active Citizens and Effective States: Definitions and Interactions - A Critical Review' (PhD by Publication)
  • Abilene Pitt (2015) 'New forms of governance - the role of civil society and the World Bank in Argentina'

Research

Lucy's doctoral research examined the global political economy of environmental governance and resistance. Her current research interests lie mainly in the areas of International Relations Theory and Global Political Economy with a particular emphasis on the challenge of ecological thought to International Relations. She is broadly concerned with developing a global political ecology perspective. She has a further interest in psychoanalysis and ecopsychology, which she is working to bring into the discipline of International Relations.

Research impact

Lucy helped set up the Green think tank Green House and is on their advisory board. She is also a research fellow at Schumacher Institute, an interdisciplinary systems think tank on environmental, social and economic issues.

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

  • Member of the British International Studies Association (BISA), since 1995
  • Member of the Interdisciplinary Research Network on Environment and Society (IRNES), since 1995.
  • Member of International Studies Association (ISA), since 1998.

APPOINTMENTS

  • 2016 - ongoing External Examiner at Free University Brighton (FUB).
  • 2013 - 2016 External Examiner for Politics and International Relations at Nottingham Trent University
  • 2009 – 2013 On Advisory Board of EU 7th Framework Programme Funded Research Project “Converge:Rethinking Globalisation in the light of contraction and convergence” (2009-2013). 

Conferences

Recent Presentations, Workshops and Conference Papers

  • Schumacher Institute Workshop 'Small is Disruptive' on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of E.F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful, 16 June 2023, presentation 'Small is Mindful'.
  • PSA Environment Workshop, 9 September 2021, The ‘Twin COP’s’: Imagining and Implementing Transformative Pathways', presentation 'Toward an ecopsychology of transformative change.'
  • BISA Annual Conference, 13-15 June 2018, Bath. Participation in Roundtable on Valuing Living Processes, 'The contribution of ecopsychology in Global Environmental Politics'
  • Schumacher Institute 10 year anniversary conference, 24 May 2018, Bristol. Keynote address:'The contributions of ecopsychology in the transition to a sustainable future'
  • PSA  Annual Conference, 26-28 March 2018, Cardiff. Conference paper presentation, ‘The potential role of psychology and psychoanalysis in strategies for building an effective climate and Earth systems politics’.
  • EISA Annual Conference, 15-17 September 2017, September, Barcelona, Invitation to sit on the Semi-plenary Roundtable on Climate Change, Presentation: 'The power of denial and the denial of power: bringing psychoanalysis and psychology into IR and Global Environmental Politics'

Further details

Other experience

Previous Teaching Experience

  • Tutor Counsellor, “Introduction to Social Sciences”, Open University (1999-2000).
  • Tutor, “Media Coverage Unit”, MSc Environmental and Development Education, Southbank University (Spring 2000).
  • Tutor, “IR of Global Environmental Change”, Sussex University (Autumn 1999).
  • Tutor, “International Political Economy”, Sussex University (Spring 1998).
  • Tutor, “Colonialism and After” (Introduction to Development Studies), Sussex University (Autumn 1997).