Shuk Ying Chan

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at University College London. 

My research sits at the intersection of Black and anticolonial political thought and contemporary political theory. In my published and/or forthcoming work, I have been particularly interested in questions of colonialism and decolonization; democracy and equality; empire and race; and ideas of self-determination. I also have interests in social movements, resistance, and political action.

My book project, Postcolonial Global Justice (Princeton University Press, forthcoming 2025), explores the moral and political implications of decolonization as an unfinished project of global justice. In it, I develop an account of “postcolonial global justice” by drawing on the normative visions and political programs of anticolonial thinkers in the era of formal decolonization. In doing so, my project aims to yield a set of historically informed and action guiding principles that help navigate the questions of self-determination and equality raised in three areas of contemporary global politics: global governance, international investment, and global cultural exchange.

Prior to UCL, I was a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College and the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University. I completed my PhD in political theory at Princeton University. My dissertation is a co-winner of the 2022 Leo Strauss Award (for best dissertation in political philosophy) from the American Political Science Association. I also hold an M.Phil in political theory and a B.A. in history and politics from the University of Hong Kong.

I serve on the Steering Committee of the International Political Theory Standing Group at the European Consortium for Political Research, and I'm also a co-founder/convenor of the London Political Theory Network.

Please feel free to contact me at shuk.ying.chan @ ucl.ac.uk . 

Photo credits: David Fisher (Fisher Studios)