I studied at the University of Liverpool from 1998 to 2002 and completed my PhD on the ‘Europeanisation of National Policy Making’ at the University of Manchester from 2004 to 2008. I joined King’s College London as a lecturer in 2008 and served as Deputy Head of Department in 2014-15. I have also held visiting positions at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford in 2017, at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) in 2021, and at the University of Warwick in 2025.

Find me on BlueSky: @drscottjames.bsky.social 

Office hours

Monday: 10.00 - 11.00

Wednesday: 12.00 - 13.00

Research

Governance of Finance and Technology: I have been researching the development of international and European financial governance and regulation in the banking and shadow banking sectors for over a decade. In recent years I have explored the geopolitical economy of digital finance related to the rise of ‘Bigtech’ digital platforms and the growth of cryptocurrencies and AI.

British Political Economy and the City of London: My interest in British political economy as a historical ‘tradition’ and empirical field concerns the role of global finance, the City of London and the impact of Brexit. Recently I have examined the fragile political economy of gilt markets through the interaction of UK pension funds and sovereign debt management.

Epistemic Politics of Knowledge and Expertise: I have a keen interest in studying the production, diffusion and pathologies of knowledge and expertise in policy making. My work focuses on mapping the boundaries of practical knowledge, the sources and limits of technocratic power, and the role of economic ideas and narratives.

I have published over twenty-five articles in leading journals, including Review of International Political Economy, New Political Economy, Public Administration, Regulation and Governance, Journal of International European Law, Journal of European Public Policy, European Journal of Political Research, and Political Studies. I have also published three books, one with Manchester University Press and two with Oxford University Press.

I am also a co-convenor for the UK Political Studies Association (PSA) Political Economy Perspectives specialist group.

Grants and Awards

From 2012 to 2014 I was Principal Investigator for the ESRC-funded project: 'Voices in the City: Understanding the Role of the City of London as a Multi-Level Policy Actor and the Impact of the Financial Crisis’.

From 2016 to 2018 I was a Co-Investigator as part of the UK research team for the nine-country Horizon 2020 project ‘EMU Choices: The Choice for Europe since Maastricht’.

Since 2024 I have been a group lead and management team member for the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Next Generation EU-UK Relations in the School of Politics and Economics.

Teaching

• European Union: Power, Politics and Economics
• Comparative Public Policy
• Political Economy of the City of London

PhD supervision

I have supervised several PhD students to graduation, with topics ranging from Procured Expertise in the European Commission to Sovereign Debt Resolution Mechanisms. I currently supervise two PhD students working on doctoral projects related to Financing the Climate Transition in Europe and Crypto-assets and US Economic Power.

I am interested in supervising further doctoral research relating to my main research interests listed above.