Jonathan Havercroft is Professor of International Political Theory in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton. He teaches in the areas of political theory and international relations. He is the editor of the journal Global Constitutionalism.
Havercroft’s research focuses on three main areas:
Drawing on methodological approaches from history and philosophy, Havercroft is interested in historically sensitive analysis of core political concepts such as sovereignty, liberty, and anarchy.
Havercroft is interested in normative arguments about political violence with a special focus on riots.
Finally, he studies the foundational principles of global order with a special interest in how these principles are contested across time and space.
Havercroft is currently engaged in two major research projects. The first, building on his long standing interest in politics and the philosophy of language, is a book length monograph on Stanley Cavell’s political philosophy of democratic perfectionism. Published in late 2023, Stanley Cavell’s Democratic Perfectionism argues that Cavell’s philosophy provides conceptual resources for responding to our era of post-truth politics. It develops an original interpretation of Stanley Cavell as a theorist of democratic perfectionism. By placing Cavell’s writings in conversation with political theorists on debates about the social contract, interpretive methods, democratic theory, and political aesthetics Stanley Cavell’s Democratic Perfectionism cultivates modes of responsiveness that can help us resist democratic backsliding.
His second project research combines normative theorizing with an empirical analysis of recent riots. These riots include the 2011 riots in England in response to the police shooting of Mark Duggan, the anti-Police violence riots in the U.S in 2014 and 2015, the G20 riots in Germany in 2017, and recent ANTIFA riots in the U.S. confronting the Alt-Right since the election of President Trump. By comparing different types of recent riots, the study asks the following questions: How do we distinguish riots from other forms of collective political action such as demonstrations, civil disobedience, and armed rebellion? Can a riot ever be justified? If so what particular kinds of grievances might justify rioting? The first essay from this project, “Why is there no just riot theory?” won the Brian Barry Prize in Political Science from the British Academy. Havercroft is currently on a year-long fellowship from the British Academy to undertake additional research on this topic.
Havercroft’s research has been published in journals including the British Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, Political Theory, Polity, Review of International Studies, Journal of International Political Theory, Global Constitutionalism, Social Sciences Quarterly, Constellations, and Alternatives. His monograph Captives of Sovereignty was published by Cambridge University Press. He has held fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada), the Canadian Department of National Defence Security and Defence Forum, and the British Academy.
In his spare time Havercroft is a competitive curler and coach. He is a four time English Curling National Champion (2019 and 2022 Mixed, 2023 and 2024 Men’s). He has represented England in two World Mixed Championships, and was on the England team that won gold in the 2023 European Men’s B Division Championship. He has coached England’s U21 Men’s curling team in six World Junior B Championships. He currently serves on the council of the English Curling Association. He also co-hosts a curling themed podcast called “Rocks Across the Pond” which interviews elite players, leaders, and grassroots organizers from around the world.