Areas of Expertise

Professor Brown's key areas of expertise are Russian foreign policy, especially Russian-Japanese relations, and energy politics.

Research

Professor Brown's current research focuses on Russian-Japanese relations, with particular regard to the territorial dispute over the Northern Territories/Southern Kurils. He also continues to work on the relationship between energy and foreign policy. Further to these topics, he has previously published research on the Soviet-Afghan War, media reporting of the Syrian conflict, and Edward Said's Orientalism. He was the winner of the Political Science Association's award for the best article published in Politics in 2010.

Representative Publications

• Japan, Russia and their Territorial Dispute: The Northern Delusion (Routledge, Mar. 2016).
• “Energy nationalism: Power politics in Asia,” ch. 3 in Kingston, J. (ed.) Asian Nationalisms Reconsidered (Routledge, Dec. 2015)
• “Not Even Two? New developments in the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan”, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 13(38, 3), September 21, 2015.
• “Towards an anti-Japanese territorial front? Russia and the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute,” Europe-Asia Studies, 67(6): 893-915 (August 2015).
• “'A nightmare painted by Goya’: Russian media coverage of the Syrian chemical weapons attacks in comparative perspective,” Problems of Post Communism, 62(4): 236-246 (June 2015).
• "Hajime! — The Causes and Prospects of the New Start in Russian-Japanese Relations," Asia Policy, 18 (July 2014).
• "'Better one tiger than ten thousand rabid rats': Russian media coverage of the Syrian conflict," International Politics, 51(1), 1-22 (Jan. 2014).
• "The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Russian-Japanese Relations," Post-Soviet Affairs. 29(3), 197-236 (Jun. 2013).
• "Oil Fueled? The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan," Post-Soviet Affairs, 29(1), 56-94 (Apr. 2013).
• "A Stereotype, Wrapped in a Cliché, Inside a Caricature: Russian Foreign Policy and Orientalism," Politics, 30(3), 149-159 (Oct. 2010). (This article was the winner of the prize for the best paper published in Politics in 2010.)

Education

• PhD International Relations, University of Aberdeen
• PGDip Russian Language, University of Glasgow
• MRes Political Research, University of Aberdeen
• MSc International and European Politics, University of Edinburgh
• BA (Hons.) Philosophy and Politics, University of York

Previous Academic Appointments

• Visiting Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Hosei University (2012-2013)
• Teaching Fellow, University of Aberdeen (2010-2011)
• Teaching Assistant, University of Aberdeen (2008-2010)

Professional Associations

• British Association of Japanese Studies (BAJS)
• British Association of Slavic and Eastern European Studies (BASEES)
• British International Studies Association (BISA)
• International Studies Association (ISA)