Politics
While many if not all of the College's fields of research (such as history, law, economics, philosophy) have a bearing on the study of politics, politics has been pursued as a discipline in its own right at All Souls for nearly a century. All Souls established the first fellowship in the subject at Oxford in 1910. It is home to the university's Gladstone chair of Government and the Chichele Chair of Social and Political Theory, which have been held in the past by many leading figures, including Sir Isaiah Berlin, Jerry Cohen, Samuel Finer, Peter Pulzer, Charles Taylor and Sir Kenneth Wheare. The Gladstone chair of Government has been held since 2001 by Christopher Hood, who works mainly on executive government and the politics of public services, and the University hopes to make a new appointment to the Chichele Chair of Social and Political Theory before long.
Politics is one of the College's subjects for Prize Fellowships and Post-Doctoral Fellowships; the College has had many visiting fellows in politics over the years (including figures such as Joe Nye and the late Samuel Huntingdon); and a number of its fellows (such as John Redwood and Lord Waldegrave) have had practical experience in politics and international affairs. It sponsors various lectures and periodic conferences in the subject, including the annual Carlyle lectures and the Lee Lecture in Political Science and Government. The College's approach to the study of politics up to now has been wide-ranging, with a strong emphasis on historical and philosophical approaches and considerable interest in public policy, but it welcomes applicants from across the discipline for its prize fellowship and post-doctoral fellowship competitions.
Current Fellows in Politics
| Vincent Crawford | Economic theory; behavioural and experimental economics |