Mark Bevir is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for British Studies, University of California, Berkeley and a Distinguished Research Professor in the College of Arts and Humanities, Swansea University.
Born and raised in London, Mark received his doctorate from the University of Oxford. Before moving to Berkeley, he held posts at the Universities of Madras, India, and Newcastle, UK. He has held visiting fellowships in Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the UK, and the US. He has done policy work for governmental and non-governmental organizations in Europe and the US as well as the United Nations. Mark's research interests in political theory include moral philosophy, political philosophy, and the history of political thought. His work on public policy focuses on organization theory, democratic theory, and governance. His methodological interests cover philosophy of social science, history of social science, and interpretive analysis. In much of his research, Mark uses philosophy and history to argue that social science is inherently historical and interpretive, and that this view of social science encourages more democratic policymaking. Recently Mark has been using interpretive theory to analyze current patterns of governance and some democratic alternatives. He has focused on public sector reform, democracy promotion, foreign policy, and security. In April 2013, he was appointed as honorary professor in Governance at UNU-MERIT.