Academic Profile

I am a lecturer in international law at the University of Sheffield School Of Law. I am part of the admissions team for the School’s undergraduate programmes.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Bristol
• LLM (awarded with distinction)
• LLB (Hons)

Teaching and Learning

I teach predominantly in my area of research: public international law. This enables me to teach with enthusiasm and to present to my students my interpretations of international law and, if necessary, how it should be reformed. Importantly, I expect my students to participate in this process; challenging my ideas and interpretations, forcing me to reflect critically upon my research. In light of this expectation, my students are therefore expected to not just understand the law (and its application) but to engage with it normatively; what’s good about the law? What should be maintained? What should be changed? For me, this enables teaching and learning to be as enjoyable as it is rewarding.

The modules I teach are:

Undergraduate	Postgraduate and MA
Foundations of International Law	The Law of International Organisations (Convenor)
Advanced Issues in International Law (Convenor)	The Politics of International Law (Joint Convenor)
Introduction to Legal Processes	International Criminal Law (Convenor)
	International Law and the Use of Force (Convenor)
	International Humanitarian Law (Convenor)

Research Interests

• International Humanitarian Law
• International Criminal Law
• Cyber War
• Post Conflict Reconstruction
• International Legal and Political Theory

Member of the Sheffield Centre for International and European Law Research Cluster.

Key Publications

Buchan, R. (2012) Cyber Attacks: Unlawful Uses of Force or Prohibited Interventions? Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1, 17(2).

Buchan, R. (2012) United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: when can unlawful acts committed by peacekeeping forces be attri9buted to the United Nations? Legal Studies Journal, 32.

Buchan, R. (2012) The Palmer Report and the Legality of Israel’s Naval Blockade of Gaza. International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 61

Buchan, R. (2011) The International Law of Naval Blockade and Israel’s Interception of the Mavi Marmara. Netherlands International Law Review, 58.

Buchan, R., Jones, H. and White, N. D. (2010) The Externalization of Peacekeeping: Policy, Responsibility and Accountability. Journal of International Peacekeeping, 15.

Buchan, R. (2010) Explaining Liberal Aggression: The International Community and the Liberal Peace. International Community Law Review, 11

Recent Invited Papers and Keynote Lectures

• R. Buchan, ‘Cyber Technology and Weapons of Mass Destruction’ (August 2012). Paper given at a conference entitled ‘International Law and Cyber War’ at the School of Law, University of Sydney.
• R. Buchan, ‘Transitional Justice Mechanisms and the International Criminal Court’ (April 2012). Paper given at a conference entitled ‘Judicial Conversations: The Role of Judiciaries in Resolving International Conflicts’ at the School of Law, University of Durham.
• R. Buchan, ‘The Cyber Realm as the New Domain of Warfare: The Role of Public International Law’ (April 2012). Paper given as a staff paper at the University of Turku, Finland.
• R. Buchan, ‘Cyber War and International Law: Problems Ahead?’ (April 2012). Paper given as a staff paper at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
• R. Buchan, ‘The International Law of Naval Blockade’ (January 2012). Staff paper given to the School of Law, Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia).
• R. Buchan, ‘The International Criminal Court and Colombia’ (January 2012). Guest lecture given to the School of Law, Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia).
• R. Buchan, ‘The EU Admission Process’ (December 2011). Paper given at a conference entitled ‘Recent Developments in the European Union’ at the Politics School, University of Sheffield.
• R. Buchan, ‘Cyber Attacks: Unlawful Uses of Force or Prohibited Interventions?’ (October 2011). Paper given at a conference entitled ‘Cyber War and International Law’ at the School of Law, University of Glasgow.
• R. Buchan, ‘The Application of International Humanitarian Law to Private Military Contractors’ (December 2009). Paper given to the Centre for Law in Its International Context, School of Law, University of Sheffield.
• R. Buchan, ‘The Universality of Liberal Values’ (April 2009) Paper given to the Politics School, University of Sheffield.
• R. Buchan, ‘The Liberal Peace Revisited’ (May 2009) Paper given to the Global Governance Research Centre, University of Helsinki,

Areas of Research Supervision

• International Peace and Security
• International Legal Theory
• Post Conflict Reconstruction