DR. CURRAN FLYNN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT KFUPM IN THE GLOBAL AND SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Curran Flynn graduated from the London School Of Economics in 2015 with a PhD in International Relations. He has taught in London, Philadelphia and Dhahran. His specialty is on International Relations Theory and International Political Economy.
PUBLISHED WORK
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND MORGENTHAU’S EARLY AMERICAN WORKS
November 2016
The article is concerned with inconsistencies in Politics among nations (PAN) and Scientific man versus power politics in relation to statements on geopolitics. The article attempts to place these works in the internal and external context of the period in order to ascertain the reason for the inconsistencies. The analysis begins with the context of the chief academic debates in political geography at the time and proceeds to explain the source of the inconsistency between the two books, using the text and archival materials. Following this, the works and criticisms of Halford Mackinder, James Fairgrieve and Nicholas Spykman are examined. The external contextual elements of the Second World War, the beginning of the Cold War and the awakening of American global power are considered as factors in the shift towards a more favourable view on geographical considerations in international relations in PAN. The conclusion that the article reaches is that there are two factors which explain the inconsistency, the integration of American thought on international relations with Morgenthau’s own ideas and the diverging purpose of the books.
HANS MORGENTHAU’S SCIENTIFIC MAN VERSUS POWER POLITICS AND POLITICS AMONG NATIONS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
August 2015
This thesis explores the discrepancies and apparent contradictions between Scientific Man Versus Power Politics and Politics Among Nations, two of Hans Morgenthau’s seminal works, published in 1946 and 1948 respectively. Despite the large amount of material published on Morgenthau this discrepancy has been overlooked. Analysing these two works is achieved through the use of the Skinnerian method. To understand the purpose of the books the thesis compares each book with similar books that Morgenthau read during this period, as well as utilizing his personal correspondence to understand his motivation. The thesis argues that the tension between the works is a result of their contrasting purposes and the shift in Morgenthau’s thinking wrought by changes in the external context. This external context is Morgenthau’s acclimatization to US academia, the growth of the discipline of International Relations (IR) within it, and the onset of the Cold War. As well as throwing light on the cogency of Morgenthau’s IR contribution, the thesis illuminates the general IR literature of this period, much of which has languished under the shade of Politics Among Nations in particular
THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SAUDI ARABIA: SOVEREIGN FUND AND FOREIGN POLICY
Forthcoming
The paper addresses the nature of the political aspect of Saudi Arabia’s foreign investment through its sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Recently, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic plan has led to a massive restructuring of the goals and oversight of the PIF which previously focused on internal investment; creating jobs within Saudi Arabia through subsidies and investments in various internal corporations. With the implementation of Vision 2030, PIF has become the primary agent financing the 2030 reforms.
The paper seeks to understand the political reasoning behind economic policy relating to the PIF and its external partnerships and investments. Using a realist understanding of political economy it is assumed that all action is ultimately undertaken in order to enhance the standing, power and prestige of the state. Each investment has a purpose and putting this into context with Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy and its current economic situation allows these purposes to be illuminated. Therefore, while the economic aspect of the investment might appear self explanatory, i.e.: the investments will create positive returns on capital, the political aspect underpins the choices made to invest in particular countries and industries. Thus, through an analysis of the PIF and its external investments the paper explains the international economic and political goals of Saudi Arabia. This approach has not been utilized to date in the literature on Saudi Arabian International political economy (IPE) and thus represents an innovative approach to understanding Saudi Arabian IPE and the kingdom’s foreign policy.
"VISION 2030 SUCCESS THUS FAR" IN ORIENT VOL 4 2018
2018
Saudi Arabia is undergoing needed economic reforms in order to cope with unemployment and an economy based upon oil. These reforms under the Vision 2030 plan are ambitious and have generated debate whether all of the sub-goals can be achieved. Focusing upon tourism and unemployment it seems likely that the tourism targets will be achieved. The infrastructure and demand is clearly present for religious tourism. For general pleasure tourism Saudi Arabia has to continue to engage in public relations to promote itself as a pleasure destination. The facilities in the Red Sea and outside Riyadh are in the early stages of development so it is too early to gauge their success. To counter unemployment it appears that at present the proposed reforms are not having the desired impact. This is not set in stone as future initiatives, foreign direct investment and an increased public consciousness of the value of the private sector and innovation can alter this trajectory.
THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SAUDI ARABIA: SOVEREIGN FUND AND FOREIGN POLICY
2020
This a co-authored policy paper for the T20 occurring in Saudi Arabia as part of the G20. It explores links between the sovereign wealth funds of the G20 and offers recommendations for multilateral synchronization of investments.
MULTILATERAL RESPONSE TO THE COVID CRISIS
2020
This is a co-authored T20 policy paper written as part of the G20. It explores how regional development banks, sovereign wealth funds and international financial agents can co-ordinate their efforts to mitigate financial turmoil due to the coronoavirus.
OVERVIEW OF COURSES
GS 342: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The nature of the International community and how states interact; Theories of international relations and the factors that affect the international community; Aspects related to international relations such as globalization, United Nations and other organizations. Some regional and international current issues
GS 447 GLOBALIZATION
Globalization explores how the world is connected, politically, culturally and financially. In the course students learn about the nature and history of globalization as well as theoretical perspectives on globalization. The course uses global governance, nuclear weapons, the environment and security to illustrate the myriad ways that the world is connected and challenges students to explore the positive and negative aspects of these trends.