Dr Matthew Fluck


I joined the Department of Politics and International Relations as a Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Fellow in 2012. I received my PhD (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)) in International Politics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2010. I have an MA in International Relations from the University of Warwick and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.


My research focuses on the relationship between the epistemic and the political. One strand of my work has focused on the role of epistemological assumptions in International Relations theory. My recent monograph, The Concept of Truth in International Relations Theory, examines the role of different conceptions of truth in critical approaches to IR and argues that Theodor Adorno's conception of truth represents an important but neglected resource resource for the discipline. I have published journal articles looking at the relationship between truth, communication, and progress.

A second line of research looks at widespread faith in the power of 'transparency' (access to information about and held by states and international institutions) to empower citizens and transform the international system. 


  • Centre for the Study of Democracy