Dr Thomas Moore
Dr Tom Moore is currently leading on the development and implementation of the strategic priorities for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (secondment role until October 2026). He is also acting as programme director (Semester 2, 2025/26) for the MA International Relations, MA International Relations and Security, and MA International Relations and Democratic Politics.
He is currently leading the 'Critique' theme in the Crisis, Conflict, and Critique research clusters in Politics and International Relations. He is also a Reader (Associate Professor) in Global Politics in the School of Social Sciences.
With a career-long commitment to student success and institutional excellence, he spearheads high-level initiatives that bridge interdisciplinary innovation with tangible social impact.
Dr Moore was previously Associate Head of College (Education and Students) in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 2018-2025. He oversaw the development of authentic teaching, learning, and assessment activities for student impact and student success in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He was involved in the development and articulation of the University of Westminster's Teaching Excellence Framework submission in 2024, which was rated Silver overall, Silver for Student Experience and Silver for Student Outcomes.
Additionally, he set up and chaired the Student Success Board (2023-2024) to provide a joined up approach to student success as part of the University's Access and Participation Plan.
As an experienced academic leader in education and curriculum development Dr Moore has led cross-institutional projects designed to enhance inclusion and belonging at the University of Westminster. Dr Moore has led on the design and development of the education portfolio in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, ensuring that our approach to learning design is informed by interdisciplinary innovation and equality, diversity, and inclusion. He has experience as an external examiner (University of Winchester, University of Leicester, and University of Birmingham) and has experience of validating courses at partner universities (e.g. Oman College, Westminster International University Tashkent).
Dr Moore has collaborated with HMP Pentonville Prison on a short course on leadership for prison officers and allied staff called 'Leadership for Rehabilitative Cultures'. This short course was started in 2024 and leveraged the power of education to transform leadership culture in HMP Pentonville.
Dr Moore’s research is in International Political Theory and Global Politics, at the interface between international ethics and International Law. With a focus on the legal and political theory of Carl Schmitt his published research explores the frontiers of legality, legitimacy, and violence in discourses of state sovereignty in Global Politics. With an increasing focus on theories of international security, recent publications have been concerned with the philosophical foundations of sovereignty in international discourse.
Dr Moore has been Director of Cross-Disciplinary Learning and Teaching (2016-2018) and Director of Learning and Teaching in the previous Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Languages (2012-2016).
Dr Moore was awarded a University of Westminster Teaching Fellowship in 2018-2019 for International Engagement and Student Experience.
Dr Moore is keen to supervise PhD/MA/UG students in the field of international political theory, including questions about the ethical dimensions of International Relations. Dr Moore is available to comment on ethical questions within international politics, including ethical foreign policy, the ethics of borders and state-sanctioned violence, and the politics of International Law.
My research is in the area of international political theory, examining the critical limits of International Relations theory through the work of Thomas Hobbes, Carl Schmitt and the realist tradition.
Past research has examined the contractual foundations of international security and discourses of exceptionalism within the work of Carl Schmitt. Current research is concerned with the geopolitical dimensions of just war theory and communicative justifications of violence in contemporary international politics.
I am available to supervise dissertations in the area of contemporary IR theory, critical political theory, and Carl Schmitt's legal and political theory.
Completed PhD supervisory experience includes: