معرفی
Dr David Jason Karp is Associate Professor of International Relations in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex, where he also serves as Director of Teaching and Learning and Faculty Assessment Lead for Social Sciences. He co-directs the Centre for Rights and Anti-Colonial Justice and has held visiting and editorial appointments at institutions including the London School of Economics, SOAS, University of Glasgow, and Fundação Getúlio Vargas (Brazil).
Education:
- PhD, Political Science – University College London (UCL)
- MSc, International Relations – London School of Economics (LSE)
- Honours BA, Political Studies – Queen’s University, Canada (Chancellor’s Scholar)
Research Interests:
Dr Karp’s scholarship sits at the intersection of normative international relations theory, global ethics, and human rights governance. His work interrogates how responsibilities for human rights are allocated among states, transnational corporations, and other non-state actors. He has advanced novel conceptual frameworks for understanding “responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill” obligations, the ethical limits of sovereignty, and the role of business in imperfect or conflict-affected states. Recent projects explore post-Hegelian reconstructions of human rights beyond state-centric recognition theories, and the shifting normative architecture of the liberal world order.
Publications Trajectory:
Across more than 25 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and monographs, Karp’s research has progressively developed a critical theory of human rights that moves from conceptual clarification (2008–2013) through institutional design (2014–2017) to contemporary challenges posed by populism, corporate power and geopolitical fragmentation (2020–2025). His 2014 Cambridge monograph Responsibility for Human Rights and 2015 Palgrave co-edited volume Human Rights Protection in Global Politics are widely cited as foundational texts in the field.
Professional Service & Awards:
- External Examiner, MSc International Relations, London School of Economics (2022–)
- Co-editor, Journal of International Relations and Development (2012–2015)
- Editorial Board Member, Business and Human Rights Journal (2025–)
- Co-convenor, BISA Ethics & World Politics Working Group (2019–2024)
- Director of Undergraduate Studies, Sussex IR Department (2016–2019)
PhD Supervision & Research Environment:
Dr Karp currently supervises six doctoral researchers examining themes such as dehumanization in border spaces, diaspora advocacy for the Uyghur population, structural dehumanization, Sinicization of Islam, LGBTQI+ rights backlash, and Mexico’s migration policies. He welcomes new PhD applications in any of his research areas and encourages interdisciplinary projects that combine normative theory with empirical international relations.
Labs & Research Centres:
He is Co-Director of the Centre for Rights and Anti-Colonial Justice (formerly Sussex Rights & Justice Research Centre), an interdisciplinary hub that supports collaborative projects on reparations, decolonising human rights, and global justice.
