Professor Richard Beardsworth

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in 2019 as Professor of International Politics and Head of School. Graduating with a PhD in Political Philosophy from the University of Sussex, I moved to Paris in 1991, teaching at the American University of Paris and researching at the Institut des Etudes Sociales. I was appointed professor of International Theory at Florida International University in 2012 and Head of Department and EH Carr Chair of International Politics in the Department of International Politics, University of Aberystwyth from 2016-2019. I retain a research associateship in at SciPo, Paris and am Principal Fellow of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures, University of Leeds .

Responsibilities

• Head of School
• Principal Fellow, Priestley Centre for Climate Futures

Research interests

My research explores the politics and ethics of climate leadership in an era of accelerating global change.

It focuses on three connected areas:

Geopolitics and international leadership – how states and regional blocs shape the international climate regime, particularly through the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

National and subnational leadership – how governments, cities, and regions translate global climate goals into domestic action, and how political, institutional, and societal factors affect this process.

Narratives for climate action – how ideas of justice, responsibility, and transition can sustain public commitment to climate policy in a politically polarised world.

This research builds on earlier work on state responsibility and cosmopolitan realism, a framework for understanding how states can advance global ethical obligations. It combines political analysis with normative theory to examine how leadership, legitimacy, and responsibility operate across multiple scales of governance.

Working closely with colleagues in the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures and across the Faculties of Social Sciences and Environment, I aim to connect scholarly insight with policy and diplomatic practice. This interdisciplinary work contributes to the University of Leeds’ ambition to lead internationally in climate research, just transition, and global governance innovation.

Qualifications

• BA (Hons), MA (Cambridge)
• MA (Sussex)
• D.Phil (Sussex)

Professional memberships

• International Studies Association
• British International Studies Association
• European International Studies Association

Student education

My teaching focuses on the politics of climate change and climate leadership.