Doctoral Candidate

Alexander J. Davies

Alexander Jake Davies is a doctoral candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he is supervised by Professor Peter Trubowitz and Dr. Luca Tardelli. His research centres on American politics, international security, and foreign policy analysis, with a particular focus on the way in which domestic politics shape foreign policy. He has taught four courses at the LSE, including American Grand Strategy and International Security, and is the Coordinator for the LSE's Security and Statecraft Research Cluster. Alexander's doctoral thesis, scheduled for submission in 2027, explores how domestic politics impact the credibility of alliance commitments.

Outside of Alexander's immediate research interests, he served as Deputy Editor for Vol. 53 of Millennium: Journal of International Studies, and as Research Assistant to Dr. Theresa Squatrito from 2022 to 2024. During his MSc, he worked as a Consultant on the LSE's Community Engagement Programme.

Prior to his doctoral studies, Alexander obtained an Distinction in MSc International Relations from the LSE and a First Class in BA Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham, Malaysia. He is the Founder and Director of Wilderness Environment Design, a 3D Environment Design studio based in the United Kingdom. Contact Me

My Thesis

Credibility and Polarisation

My thesis explores how domestic politics influence military alliances, with a particular focus on political polarisation and the US-UK relationship. Using original and robust archival evidence alongside contemporary data from both the United States and Europe, it challenges existing assumptions about commitment credibility and offers new insights into the underpinnings of alliances.

(The graph to the right assesses ideological polarisation in Congress based on the average ideological position of the Democratic and Republic parties, as measured by roll call votes. It is calculated from DW-NOMINATE data by Lewis et al. (2025).)

Click here to read more about my research

“Democracy survives through power, not despite it. Recognising this anchors democratic principles more securely in the realities they must endure.”

Conference Review

International Relations and Democracy in a Multipolar World

I was recently invited to attend a conference at the Phelan US Centre on the state of global democracy. In this follow-up report, I engage with the arguments made by scholars at the event and offer my own perspectives on the challenges and prospects for democracy worldwide.

You can find the full event report, and my discussion, available open access on the Phelan United States Centre’s website. Click below to be taken there.

Read the full report here

Teaching

Teaching Experience

I have taught several courses at the LSE alongside my research, all broadly focusing on International Relations. I take my teaching seriously and have accrued several hundred hours of lecturing and classroom experience. Please find an abridged list of the classes I have taught below. A more comprehensive account of my teaching activities can be found on my teaching page.

IR211: America as a Global Power: FDR to Biden ❘ LSE

IR205: International Security ❘ LSE

IR201: Power Shift: The West, the BRICS and The Crisis of the Liberal International Order? ❘ LSE

IR222: From Cyberwar to Killer Robots: Emerging Technology and International Security ❘ LSE

See my full list of classes taught here