Our visiting scholars are part of our vibrant research community
Current Visiting Scholars
David Lewis
Visiting until 30/12/2022
David will be collaborating with Prof Jason Sharman in the field of economic crime, corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing and WMD proliferation financing, with research, teaching, applied policy work and support for postgraduate students, also covering the impact of existing policy measures on financial inclusion and human rights, and with a focus on identifying and promoting recommendations to improve the effectiveness of global policy in these areas.
From 2009-2015 David was head of anti-money laundering policy for HM Treasury, after previously leading law enforcement engagement with the private sector at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (now National Crime Agency). From 2015-2022 David was Executive Secretary of the Financial Action Task Force, the intergovernmental body responsible for setting global standards and assessing their implementation.
Adam Wurr
Visiting until 25/04/2023
Adam has spent his career as a British Diplomat, having previously been posted to Switzerland, Nigeria, Lebanon and Azerbaijan. In London he has specialised in various aspects of national security and defence policy whilst working for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Ministry of Defence.
Adam’s previous academic research interests have focussed on the ethics and politics of kidnapping and ransoming by terrorist groups, and between 2015-18 he was a Visiting Fellow at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University.
During his Visiting Scholarship to POLIS Adam will continue his work designing and running a series of Strategic Simulation exercises for the Centre of Geopolitics (https://www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/research/strategic-simulations). Linked to this he will also be commencing PhD research with The Open University focussing on the modes, motivations, ethics and behaviours of those engaged in interventionist foreign policy formulation and crisis response.
Become a Visiting Scholar at the Department of POLIS
The Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) Visitors Programme welcomes a small number of scholars each year. The Programme is aimed at scholars in established posts in other academic institutions.
Find out how to apply
Former Visiting Scholars