Tuesday, 21 January 2020
A global authority on the UN, organised crime and modern slavery is joining the world’s largest team of modern slavery scholars.
Dr James Cockayne, currently Director of the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, will join the Rights Lab and the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, as Professor of Global Politics and Anti-Slavery.
Dr Cockayne has over 20 years’ experience in the public, private and research sectors. He is a leading commentator on innovation in global governance, the role of evidence in global public policy, and on multi-stakeholder efforts to protect human rights.
Dr Cockayne currently represents UNU at the United Nations (UN) in New York and runs its Centre for Policy Research, an independent thinktank within the UN system that combines research excellence with deep knowledge of the multilateral system to generate innovative solutions to current and future global public policy challenges. He serves as Project Director for Delta 8.7, the Alliance 8.7 Knowledge Platform, and as Head of Secretariat for Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking, also known as the Liechtenstein Initiative. He also helped to build Code 8.7, an initiative involving multiple research organizations in a collaborative effort to work with survivors and tech organisations to harness the power of artificial intelligence to fight modern slavery.
Throughout my career I have looked for opportunities to bring the theory and practice of public policy-making closer together. I welcome the opportunity to join the University of Nottingham's School of Politics and International Relations to deepen scholarship in this area, and I am excited to work with the Rights Lab, seen by many as the single most important interdisciplinary research hub on anti-slavery in the world.
Dr Cockayne has briefed the UN Security Council on the role of human rights in due process, the UN Human Rights Council on the regulation of private security companies, and has advised numerous UN leaders on topics ranging from cybersecurity to global drug policy. He conceived and helped to draft the Code of Ethics that now binds the President of the General Assembly.
Dr Cockayne was previously Head of United Nations University’s Office at the United Nations in New York, and led its merger with the Centre for Policy Research in 2018, when he assumed the role of Director. Under his leadership, UNU’s team in New York grew from 1 to more than 20 between 2013 and 2018. Before joining UNU, Dr Cockayne was Co-Director of the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, leading their work in New York and Africa, and Principal Legal Officer in the Australian Attorney-General’s Department.
A qualified lawyer, his best-known work is Hidden Power: The Strategic Logic of Organized Crime (Oxford University Press, 2016). He earned his doctorate from King’s College London, and was a Hauser Scholar at New York University while undertaking his LL.M. He holds both an undergraduate and law degree from University of Sydney, where he was a medallist in Government and Public Administration.
Dr Caitlin Milazzo, Head of the School of Politics and International Relations, said: “Dr Cockayne’s expertise on organised crime and international institutions bring new dimensions to the School’s strength in the area of international relations and security studies. We are excited to welcome a practitioner of his calibre to the School.”
Dr Cockayne’s research at the University of Nottingham as Professor of Global Politics and Anti-Slavery will include theorising global public policy processes and transformations, including in the domain of modern slavery. He also will continue with UNU-CPR as a Senior Fellow (Modern Slavery) until mid-2021 and in this capacity will continue to lead Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking, the second phase of the Liechtenstein Initiative sponsored by Liechtenstein, the Netherlands and Australia; and the Delta 8.7 knowledge platform.
Professor Zoe Trodd, Director of the Rights Lab, said: “I am thrilled to welcome such a leading figure and innovator in the modern anti-slavery field to the Rights Lab in 2020 as a professor. James is one of the world’s most exciting thinkers and leaders in this area. To achieve SDG 8.7 by 2030, we need to understand how our research insights can inform effective public policy. James’ work here at Nottingham will greatly advance our substantive understanding and methodological rigour.”
Nasreen Suleman - Media Relations Manager, Faculty of Social Sciences
Email: nasreen.suleman@nottingham.ac.uk
Phone: 0115 951 5793
Location: C4, Pope Building, University Park, Nottingham,NG7 2RD
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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