Martin Shaw (professor)
Encyclopedia
Martin Shaw is a professor of international relations
. Best known for his sociological work on war, genocide and global politics
, his work has also had a consistent political content.
, graduating in 1968. He was a member of the editorial board of the Catholic left-wing journal, Slant
(1965–67), for which his first articles were written, but left the Catholic Church in 1967.
Shaw also entered debates in International Relations, with his co-edited book State and Society in International Relations (1991) and his books Global Society and International Relations and Theory of the Global State: Globality as Unfinished Revolution. He founded The Global Site (2000), a portal for critical writing on global politics
, culture and society, which also became a significant forum for academic debate after 9/11.
In the 2000s, Shaw's research returned to questions of war, now extended into the field of genocide, with three books: War and Genocide, The New Western Way of War: Risk-Transfer War and its Crisis in Iraq and What is Genocide?.
Shaw was appointed a Lecturer in Sociology
at the University of Durham (1970–72) and was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in Sociology at the University of Hull
(1972–94) before becoming Professor of International and Political Sociology (1994). The following year Shaw moved to a Chair of international relations
and politics
at the University of Sussex
, where he became a Research Professor in 2008. He was a Leverhulme Fellow in 2000 and an ESRC Research Fellow in 2004 and 2005. In 2010 he became a Professorial Fellow in International Relations and Human Rights at Roehampton University and a Visiting Professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals.
from his schooldays (1963–66), as a student Shaw was heavily involved in politics. In 1966 he joined the LSE
Socialist Society and was involved in the student and anti-Vietnam War movements, joining International Socialism (IS), a British revolutionary socialist group in 1966. He was a vice-president of the LSE Students Union (1968–69) and a member of the national committee of IS (1968–73). At the beginning of 1977 he left the International Socialists, and wrote a critical history, The Making of a Party?, in Socialist Register
1978. He briefly instigated an attempt to regroup dissident former members of IS, the International Socialist Alliance (1977–78) and was one of the leaders of Socialist Unity
, which stood candidates in the British General Election of 1979. After this election brought Margaret Thatcher
to power, Shaw rejoined the Labour Party (1979), of which he remains a member. He stood unsuccessfully as Labour candidate for Beverley
at the 1987 General Election
. He was active in European Nuclear Disarmament
(1980–85) and a member of its national committee, as well as in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
. He criticised what he saw as the passivity of the political left in the face of the genocidal wars in Bosnia
(1992–95) and Kosovo
(1998–99). He has recently continued his political commentary in writings for Open Democracy.
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
. Best known for his sociological work on war, genocide and global politics
Global politics
Global politics is the discipline that studies the political and economical patterns of the world. It studies the relationships between cities, nation-states, shell-states, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations and international organizations.It has been argued that global...
, his work has also had a consistent political content.
Biography
Educated at Catholic grammar schools in Northern England (his father Sir Roy Shaw and mother had converted to Catholicism), Shaw studied Sociology at the London School of EconomicsLondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, graduating in 1968. He was a member of the editorial board of the Catholic left-wing journal, Slant
Slant (journal)
Slant was a Catholic magazine associated with the University of Cambridge and the Dominican Order during the 1960s, and of the group associated with this magazine. It sought to combine Catholic belief with left-wing politics and was influenced by the thinking of Wittgenstein and Marx. Influential...
(1965–67), for which his first articles were written, but left the Catholic Church in 1967.
Academic career
In his Marxist period in the 1970s, Shaw published Marxism versus Sociology: A Guide to Reading and Marxism and Social Science: The Roots of Social Science. However he developed a critique of Marxism, which he saw as incapable of fully analysing the problem of war, as he argued in Socialism and Militarism. He pioneered a new sociology of war and militarism, in his edited volume, War, State and Society and in Dialectics of War. In the 1990s he published two studies in this area: Post-Military Society and Civil Society and Media in Global Crises, a study of British responses to the 1991 Gulf War.Shaw also entered debates in International Relations, with his co-edited book State and Society in International Relations (1991) and his books Global Society and International Relations and Theory of the Global State: Globality as Unfinished Revolution. He founded The Global Site (2000), a portal for critical writing on global politics
Global politics
Global politics is the discipline that studies the political and economical patterns of the world. It studies the relationships between cities, nation-states, shell-states, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations and international organizations.It has been argued that global...
, culture and society, which also became a significant forum for academic debate after 9/11.
In the 2000s, Shaw's research returned to questions of war, now extended into the field of genocide, with three books: War and Genocide, The New Western Way of War: Risk-Transfer War and its Crisis in Iraq and What is Genocide?.
Shaw was appointed a Lecturer in Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of Durham (1970–72) and was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in Sociology at the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
(1972–94) before becoming Professor of International and Political Sociology (1994). The following year Shaw moved to a Chair of international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
at the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, where he became a Research Professor in 2008. He was a Leverhulme Fellow in 2000 and an ESRC Research Fellow in 2004 and 2005. In 2010 he became a Professorial Fellow in International Relations and Human Rights at Roehampton University and a Visiting Professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals.
Political views
A member of the British Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
from his schooldays (1963–66), as a student Shaw was heavily involved in politics. In 1966 he joined the LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
Socialist Society and was involved in the student and anti-Vietnam War movements, joining International Socialism (IS), a British revolutionary socialist group in 1966. He was a vice-president of the LSE Students Union (1968–69) and a member of the national committee of IS (1968–73). At the beginning of 1977 he left the International Socialists, and wrote a critical history, The Making of a Party?, in Socialist Register
Socialist Register
Socialist Register is an annual journal. It was founded in 1964 by Ralph Miliband and John Saville. They had criticisms of the New Left Review after Perry Anderson assumed leadership of the NLR. Miliband and Saville sought to bring about a journal in the orientation of The New Reasoner....
1978. He briefly instigated an attempt to regroup dissident former members of IS, the International Socialist Alliance (1977–78) and was one of the leaders of Socialist Unity
Socialist Unity (UK)
Socialist Unity was a small socialist electoral coalition in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the International Marxist Group as a response to the Socialist Workers Party standing candidates in elections....
, which stood candidates in the British General Election of 1979. After this election brought Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
to power, Shaw rejoined the Labour Party (1979), of which he remains a member. He stood unsuccessfully as Labour candidate for Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
at the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
. He was active in European Nuclear Disarmament
European Nuclear Disarmament
European Nuclear Disarmament was a Europe-wide movement for a "nuclear-free Europe from Poland to Portugal” that put on annual European Nuclear Disarmament conventions from 1982 to 1991.- Origins :...
(1980–85) and a member of its national committee, as well as in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
. He criticised what he saw as the passivity of the political left in the face of the genocidal wars in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
(1992–95) and Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
(1998–99). He has recently continued his political commentary in writings for Open Democracy.