Dr Oliver Turner
Job Title
Senior Lecturer in International Relations

Room number
3.28Building (Address)
Chrystal Macmillan BuildingStreet (Address)
15a George SquareCity (Address)
EdinburghCountry (Address)
UKPost code (Address)
EH8 9LDResearch interests
Research interests
Oliver's research explores the roles of social forces including discourse/narrative, identity, empire, and emotions in the making of foreign policies and in the broader constitutions of global affairs. Empirically, his focus is upon the Asia Pacific and its engagements with the US, UK, and wider West.
Oliver's work has been published in academic journals including the European Journal of International Relations, International Affairs, Geopolitics, the Review of International Studies, and Foreign Policy Analysis, as well as across authored and edited volumes and various media and current affairs outlets.
- Publications
Books
- Turner, O., Nymalm, N. and Aslam, W. (eds.) (2023) The Routledge Handbook of US Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific (Routledge)
- Turner, O. and Parmar, I. (eds.) (2020) The United States in the Indo-Pacific: Obama's Legacy and the Trump Transition (Manchester University Press)
- Turner, O. (2014) American Images of China: Identity, Power, Policy (Routledge)
Peer-reviewed journal articles
- Homolar, A. and Turner, O. (forthcoming) 'Narrative alliances: The discursive foundations of international order', accepted for publication in International Affairs
- Turner, O. (2022) 'Frontiering International Relations: Narrating US policy in the Asia Pacific', Foreign Policy Analysis, 18:2
- Turner, O. and Kaarbo, J. (2021) 'Predictably Unpredictable: Trump's Personality and Approach Towards China', Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 34:3, pp.452-471
- Turner, O. (2019) 'Global Britain and the Narrative of Empire', The Political Quarterly, 90:4, pp.727-734
- Turner, O. and Nymalm, N. (2019) 'Morality and Progress: IR Narratives on International Revisionism and the Status Quo', Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 32:4, pp.407-428
- Turner, O. (2018) ‘Subcontracting, Facilitating, and Qualities of Regional Power: The UK’s Partial Pivot to Asia’, Asia Europe Journal, 17:2, pp.211-226
- Pan, C. and Turner, O. (2017) ‘Neoconservatism as Discourse: Virtue, Power and US Foreign Policy’, European Journal of International Relations, 23:1, pp.74-96
- Turner, O. (2016) ‘China, India and the US Rebalance to the Asia Pacific: The Geopolitics of Rising Identities’, Geopolitics, 21:4, pp.922-944
- Turner, O. (2013) ‘Threatening China and US Security: The International Politics of Identity’, Review of International Studies, 39:4, pp.903-924
- Turner, O. (2013) ‘Finishing the Job: The UN’s Special Committee on Decolonization and the Politics of Self-Governance’, Third World Quarterly, 34:7, pp.1193-1208
- Turner, O. (2011) ‘Sino-US Relations Then and Now: Discourse, Images, Policy’, Political Perspectives, 5:3, pp. 27-45
- Turner, O. (2009) ‘China’s Recovery: Why the Writing Was Always on the Wall’, The Political Quarterly, 80:1, pp. 111-118.
Book chapters
- Turner, O. (2023) US Foreign Policy Towards China, in Turner, O., Nymalm, N. and Aslam, W. (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of US Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific (Routledge)
- Turner, O. and Kaarbo, J. (2023) 'Predictably Unpredictable: Trump's Personality and Approach Towards China', in Bentley, M. and Lerner, A. (eds.) A Trump Doctrine? Unpredictability and Foreign Policy (London: Routledge)
- Harrison, J. and Turner, O. (2022) ‘The United States and the International Law of the Sea’, in Iommi, L.G and Maass, R.W. (eds.) The United States and International Law: Paradoxes of Support Across Contemporary Issues (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press)
- Turner, O. (2020) 'US imperial hegemony in the American Pacific', in Turner, O. and Parmar, I. (eds.) The United States in the Indo-Pacific: Obama's Legacy and the Trump Transition (Manchester University Press)
- Turner, O. and Parmar, I. (2020) 'Conclusion: Legacies and Transitions in the twenty first century Indo-Pacific', in Turner, O. and Parmar, I. (eds.) The United States in the Indo-Pacific: Obama's Legacy and the Trump Transition (Manchester University Press)
- Turner O. (2016) ‘The US and China: Obama’s cautious engagement’, in Holland, J. and Bentley, M. (eds.) The Obama Doctrine: Legacy and Continuity in US Foreign Policy (London: Routledge), pp.180-193
- Turner, O. (2014) ‘The US Pivot to the Asia Pacific’, in Parmar, I., Miller, L. and Ledwidge, M. (eds.) Obama and the World: New Directions in US Foreign Policy, 2nd edition (London: Routledge), pp.219-230
Reports and media articles
- Turner, O. and Stephens, L. (2021) 'The Indo-Pacific Exposes the Regionalisms of "Global" Britain', The Diplomat, 24 November 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/the-indo-pacific-exposes-the-regionalis…
- Turner, O. (2020) 'COVID-19 challenges Downing Street’s post-Brexit Asia ambitions', East Asia Forum, 22 April 2020, https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2020/04/22/covid-19-challenges-downing-st…
- Turner, O. (2019) 'Why the 2020 Democratic Candidates’ Biggest China Challenge May be President Trump', LSE US Centre, 6 December, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/12/06/primary-primers-why-the-20…
- Turner, O. (2018) 'The Golden Era of UK-China Relations Meets Brexit', The Diplomat, 18 December, https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/the-golden-era-of-uk-china-relations-me…
- Turner, O. (2017) ‘The United States and China: Ruptures and Realignments in Trump's First Six Months’. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Brief no. 9. (Republished on the University of Edinburgh's PIR blog: https://edinburghpoliticsandinternationalrelations.wordpress.com/2017/08/28/the-united-states-and-china-ruptures-and-realignments-in-trumps-first-six-months/)
- Turner, O. and Pan, C. (2016) ‘How Neocons are Still Winning in 2016', The National Interest, 15 August, http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/how-neocons-are-still-winning…
- Turner, O. (2016) ‘China and ASEAN: A Complex and Evolving Landscape’, University of Nottingham China Policy Institute, 13 June, http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2016/06/13/chinas-ri…
- Turner, O. (2016) ‘The Motives Behind China’s South China Sea Expansion’, South East Asia Globe, 12 April, http://sea-globe.com/motives-behind-beijing-south-china-sea-expansion/
- Turner, O. (2015) ‘China and the 2016 US Presidential Debates: Curiosities and Contradictions’. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Brief no. 3
- Turner, O. (2014) ‘Hagel Speech on China’s ‘Rise’ exposes Hypocrisy in Washington’, The Conversation, 11 July, https://theconversation.com/hagel-speech-on-chinas-rise-exposes-hypocrisy-in-washington-26476.
- Turner, O. (2013) ‘West Fears the Rise of Some Countries More Than Others’, The Conversation, 9 December, https://theconversation.com/west-fears-the-rise-of-some-countries-more-than-others-20802.
- PhD supervision
Oliver is interested in supervising PhD dissertations on topics related to his main research interests.
If you are interested in being supervised by Oliver Turner, please see the link below.
Background
Oliver is a former Hallsworth Research Fellow of the University of Manchester, where he also gained his PhD. He is a former editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relations. He has acted as convenor and co-convenor of BISA's US Foreign Policy working group, and is a former visiting research fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.
At the University of Edinburgh Oliver convenes the course, International Relations of the Asia Pacific (UG), and the seminar series, Writing and Publishing in Academia (PhD).
Oliver is Postgraduate Advisor for the department of Politics and International Relations, and Co-Director for the University's Centre for Security Research (CeSeR)
Oliver is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Works within
Publications by user content
Publication | Research Explorer link |
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Homolar A, Turner O. Narrative alliances: The discursive foundations of international order. International affairs. 2023 Sept 29. |
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Harrison J, Turner O. "Exceptional" leadership: The United States and the International Law of the Sea. In García Iommi L, Maass RW, editors, The United States and International Law: Paradoxes of Support across Contemporary Issues. University of Michigan Press. 2022. p. 237-257 doi: 10.3998/mpub.11448925 |
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Turner O. Frontiering International Relations: Narrating US policy in the Asia Pacific. Foreign Policy Analysis. 2022 Apr 1;18(2):orac009. doi: 10.1093/fpa/orac009 |
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Turner O, Kaarbo J. Predictably unpredictable: Trump’s personality and approach towards China. Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 2021 Feb 5. Epub 2021 Feb 5. doi: 10.1080/09557571.2021.1879018 |
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Turner O. Global Britain and the narrative of empire. The Political Quarterly. 2019 Nov 22;90(4):727-734. Epub 2019 Aug 18. doi: 10.1111/1467-923X.12739 |
View |
Turner O, Nymalm N. Morality and progress: IR narratives on international revisionism and the status quo . Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 2019;32(4):407-428. Epub 2019 Jun 21. doi: 10.1080/09557571.2019.1623173 |
View |
Turner O. Subcontracting, facilitating and qualities of regional power: The UK’s partial pivot to Asia. Asia Europe Journal: Studies on Common Policy Challenges. 2018 Nov 10;17(2):211-226. Epub 2018 Nov 10. doi: 10.1007/s10308-018-0529-2 |
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Hulme D, Turner O. Poverty reduction. In Weiss TG, Wilkinson R, editors, International Organization and Global Governance. 2 ed. London: CRC Press. 2018. p. 694-706 |
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Turner O. Review of Gordon Chang, Fateful Ties: A History of America’s Preoccupation with China (Harvard: Harvard University Press). The China Journal. 2018 Jan 31;79:192-193. doi: 10.1086/694705 |
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Turner O. The United States and China: Ruptures and Realignments in Trump’s First Six Months. 2017. 7 p. |
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Pan C, Turner O. Neoconservatism as Discourse: Virtue, Power and US Foreign Policy. European Journal of International Relations. 2017 Mar 1;23(1):74-96. Epub 2016 Jan 11. doi: 10.1177/1354066115623349 |
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Turner O. Book Review: Globalization and transnational capitalism in Asia and Oceania, edited by Jeb Sprague. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. 2016 Dec 5;22(1):191-193. doi: 10.1080/13547860.2017.1260888 |
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Turner O. China, India and the US rebalance to the Asia Pacific: The geopolitics of rising identities. Geopolitics. 2016 Oct 30;21(4):922-944. Epub 2016 Jun 1. doi: 10.1080/14650045.2016.1190708 |
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Turner O. The US and China: Obama’s cautious engagement. In Bentley M, Holland J, editors, The Obama Doctrine: A Legacy of Continuity in US Foreign Policy?. 1st ed. Routledge. 2016. p. 180-193. (Routledge Studies in US Foreign Policy). doi: 10.4324/9781315731346 |
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Turner O. The US and China: Obama's cautious engagement. In Bentley M, Holland J, editors, The Obama Doctrine: A Legacy of Continuity in US Foreign Policy?. Routledge. 2016. 12 doi: 10.4324/9781315731346 |
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Turner O. China and the 2016 US Presidential Debates: Curiosities and Contradictions. 2015. 13 p. |
View |
Hulme D, Turner O. Poverty reduction. In Weiss TG, Wilkinson R, editors, International Organization and Global Governance. 1 ed. London: Routledge. 2014. p. 632-643 |
View |
Turner O. American Images of China: Identity, Power, Policy. Abingdon; New York: Routledge, 2014. 226 p. (Routledge Studies in US Foreign Policy). doi: 10.4324/9781315776705 |
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Turner O. The US 'Pivot' to the Asia Pacific. In Ledwidge M, Parmar I, Miller LB, editors, Obama and the World: 2nd New Directions in US Foreign Policy. 2 ed. 2014. 16. (New Directions in US Foreign Policy). doi: 10.4324/9781315879789 |
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Turner O. Chengxin Pan, knowledge, desire and power in global politics: Western representations of China's rise. Global Change, Peace & Security. 2014 Jan 6;26(1):121-123. doi: 10.1080/14781158.2014.871244 |
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Turner O. West Fears the Rise of Some Countries More Than Others. 2013. |
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Turner O. 'Threatening' China and US security: The international politics of identity. Review of International Studies. 2013 Oct;39(4):903-924. doi: 10.1017/S0260210512000599 |
View |
Turner O, Hulme D. Poverty Reduction. In Wilkinson R, Weiss TG, editors, International Organization and Global Governance. Routledge. 2013. p. 632-643 |
View |
Turner O. 'Finishing the Job': The UN Special Committee on Decolonization and the politics of self-governance. Third World Quarterly. 2013 Aug;34(7):1193-1208. doi: 10.1080/01436597.2013.825078 |
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Turner O. Review of Dambisa Moyo, Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What it Means for Us. Journal of International Development. 2013 Apr 17;25(4):596-597. doi: 10.1002/jid.2889 |
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Turner O. Discourse, Images, Policy: Sino-US Relations Then and Now. Political Perspectives. 2011 Nov 2;5(3):27-45. |
View |
Turner O. China's Recovery: Why the Writing was Always on the Wall. The Political Quarterly. 2009 Mar 9;80(1):111-118. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-923X.2009.01965.x |
View |