Jan Ruzicka

Jan was appointed as Lecturer in Security Studies in August 2011. Since October 2013 he serves as Director of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies. Previously, he worked in the Department as a research assistant on the project 'The Challenges to Trust-Building in Nuclear Worlds'. From 2006 to 2009 he was Marie Curie doctoral fellow in the Department, where he defended his thesis in 2010. The thesis combined a theoretical critique of securitization theory with historical case studies of the French and Russian revolutions. Prior to coming to Aberystwyth, he served as the chief aide to a ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Security of the Senate of the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2006. A graduate of Charles University in Prague, he received his MA degrees in politics at Brandeis University (Fulbright Scholarship) and in international relations at Central European University (Soros Foundation Scholarship).

Jan's research interests can broadly be divided into three main areas: security studies; international relations theory; and area studies with emphasis on Central Europe. In security studies his research focuses on theories of security, the relationship between politics and security, nuclear weapons and emerging security threats. Jan's work in international relations theory concentrates on the problem of theorizing trust at the international level. He has developed the concept of trusting relationship and currently works on anchoring the concept in a more general theory of international politics. Finally, he has had a long-standing research interest in area studies. This research has led to several articles on regional politics of Central Europe.