Jonathan Leader Maynard

Delighted that my article ‘The logic of idealization in political theory’, which substantially reformulates the debate over idealization and ideal/non-ideal theory, is now out in the latest American Journal of Political Science. Available open-access!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Please note that the interview dates listed in the job advert are wrong: interviews should be held in July.

These represent three key hires for our department, which has grown at an amazing pace (now 90 permanent faculty)! It is a terrific and unusually interdisciplinary place to work with a great sense of community. So please help spread the word, and apply if you are interested! 4/4

They have a different balance of education, research and admin responsibilities, and different tailored promotion criteria to other academic appointments. But they are otherwise the same: in pay scale, permanence, status, participation in our staff community, etc. 3/4

Many universities have started using education pathway positions, but their nature varies across institutions. So I stress: in DPE, these are not overloaded ‘teaching’ posts. They are strategic investments in developing the department’s world class research-led education. 2/4

AEP Lecturer in Politics and Research Methods

We’re hiring 3 permanent (tenured) lecturers in the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London. These are ‘education pathway’ posts (in Economics, Research Methods, & Comparative Politics) 1/4

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/117268-...

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/117209-...

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/117245-...

Sleeping with the elephant Lise Butler What Starmer could learn from Canada  My country, Canada, faces an existential threat. Over the course of his new administration’s first month, Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that…

This is from a few weeks ago, but I really recommend this great column from Dr Lise Butler, at City St George’s University of London, on the lessons for the UK Labour Party from Canada.

renewal.org.uk/2025/03/01/s...

Lecturer in Political Theory

3 new jobs in my department at King's College London @Kingspol_econ - 2 in Political Theory, and one in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

It's a great department. Details below!

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/108445-...

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/108485-...

Events - Cascade Institute The Institute explores how humanity interacts as a complex system and how they must therefore be addressed systemically, not separately.

For those who missed my last post - I’m excited to be speaking at the Cascade Institute tomorrow (Thursday) on ‘How Global Ideological Competition Drives Russia’s War in Ukraine’. 1pm Pacific/4pm East Coast/9pm UK/10pm W Europe.

Join me on Zoom! Details below:

cascadeinstitute.org/about/events/

Events - Cascade Institute The Institute explores how humanity interacts as a complex system and how they must therefore be addressed systemically, not separately.

Looking forward to speaking at the Cascade Institute in Victoria, Canada, on the 16th January on ‘How Ideological Competition Drives Russia’s War in Ukraine’!

You can join in person or online! Full details below:

cascadeinstitute.org/about/events/

I study mass killing, which includes genocides. @alexhinton.bsky.social @jleadermaynard.bsky.social @uungor.bsky.social @vukusiciva.bsky.social and @lucyjgaynor.bsky.social are on here and should fit as well.

American Journal of Political Science | MPSA Journal | Wiley Online Library The role of ideals and idealizations is among the most vigorously debated methodological questions in political theory. Yet, the debate seems at an impasse. This paper argues that this reflects a fun....

Delighted to announce that my new article, 'The Logic of Idealization in Political Theory' has been published in the American Journal of Political Science!

The article is open access! So anyone can read it for free here:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Manifestations of xenophobia in AI systems - AI & SOCIETY Xenophobia is one of the key drivers of marginalisation, discrimination, and conflict, yet many prominent machine learning fairness frameworks fail to comprehensively measure or mitigate the resulting...

Delighted to announce the publication of a new article, that I have co-authored with Nenad Tomasev and Iason Gabriel, on ‘Manifestations of Xenophobia in AI Systems’, out now (free to access) in AI & Society!

Please check it out here:

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Ideology & Mass Killing: The Radicalized Security Politics of Genocides & Deadly Atrocities, written by Jonathan Leader Maynard "Ideology & Mass Killing: The Radicalized Security Politics of Genocides & Deadly Atrocities, written by Jonathan Leader Maynard" published on 01 Mar 2024 by Brill | Nijhoff.

Thrilled, and honoured, by this hugely generous review of my book, Ideology and Mass Killing, by the great Professor Alex J Bellamy - one of world's foremost scholars of atrocities and humanitarianism.

t.co/FdD2JE3gL1

Research Team Lead, EST - Cascade Institute RESEARCH TEAM LEAD, ENERGY SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION The Cascade Institute is based at Royal Roads University and acknowledges that our headquarters are located on the traditional lands of the Xwsepsum (...

Two great new job openings at Canada's Cascade Institute (where I sit on the scientific advisory board) in British Columbia: an Energy Systems Transformation Research Lead and Fellow.

Do check them out:

cascadeinstitute.org/est-team-lead/
cascadeinstitute.org/est-fellow/

Lecturer in Gender and Political Theory

A great new job in my department at King's College London! It's an amazing department and terrific political theory group. Check it out!

t.co/9izN8Bgy8I

Ok, I need someone to explain this Tradle bombshell to me…

Great new job opportunity to work in the UK Parliament as a committee specialist on home affairs and justice - posting for anyone who might be interested:

housesofparliament.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...

#5 To what extent do Gazans support Hamas? Survey data shows that Gazans have little trust in the Hamas government, and a majority of them favour a solution to the conflict that recognises the existence of Israel alongside a Palestinian state

New post: to what extent do people in Gaza support Hamas? In which I look at some survey data: https://open.substack.com/pub/alexandreafonso/p/5-to-what-extent-do-gazans-support?r=ercs8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Getting this kind of deep intellectual engagement is the best thing about writing a book. I'm so grateful, and I look forward to engaging with Rejali - and any of you who are interested - in the future!

DM me if any of you would like more information about the book, or the Qs raised in the review.

Professor Rejali's work on torture is also brilliant and you should all check it out, especially his masterwork 'Torture and Democracy'. His review also raises some good questions about my argument about ideology's role in mass killing (though I think I have some good answers!).

It is really moving, for a start, to be discussed alongside Fujii - who for those unfamiliar was an pre-eminent political scientist taken from us far too early in 2018. I cannot recommend her work enough.

Why People Do Violence? - Human Rights Review

I'm honoured to see this detailed and thoughtful review of my book, 'Ideology and Mass Killing', alongside the late great Lee Ann Fujii's amazing book 'Showtime: The Logic and Power of Violent Display', by the foremost scholar of Torture, Darius Rejali.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Have you never used any paper, cardboard, rubber, cork, gum or maple syrup in your life then?

In particular, the report claims that the main obstacle mentioned in most analysis I have seen - that countermeasures must be reversible - is not in fact an obstacle to transferring sovereign assets (on a couple of lines of argument).

Do any international lawyers on here have thoughts on this more optimistic report on the possibility of transferring Russian sovereign assets (not just profits made off those assets, but the assets themselves) to Ukraine?

rdi.org/wp-content/u...

Important read by William Hague in The Times:

'Hamas has set a trap that Israel must avoid'.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hama...

12, so I can keep my job. I’m amused that more Americans know who a former UK Prime Minister was than know who their own Secretary of State is.

Also interesting if not hugely surprising that strong liberals and conservatives both know more about international affairs than moderates/centrists.

Such an important read.

They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie? Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino became famous for their research into why we bend the truth. Now they’ve both been accused of fabricating data.

The morning pre-teaching read: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...