I am a multi-award-winning Lecturer in the Department of Criminology, Politics and Sociology. I am interested in the intersection between national security and human rights, as well as the logic(s) that underpin policies at this intersection. I am currently editing a volume focused on the official record, oversight, national security and democracy. I am also interested in the US electoral system, and am Project Lead on 'The Covid-19 and Democracy Project' and '50 States or Bust!'
Among other publications, my work has been featured in The Independent, The Conversation, The Daily Express, Open Democracy and The Guardian.
Senior Lecturer, and Events Officer for department
Over a decade of experience at Kingston University and Goldsmiths, University of London.
My research is broadly shaped by an interest in democracy.
My interests include:
I am currently co-editing a book on national security, the official record and the rule of law in a democratic context and am Project Lead on the Covid-19 and Democracy Project.
I am interested in supervising research in the above areas.
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : recent US history shows the assassination attempts against Trump are part of a longer trend of political violence. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : the presidential debate saw Kamala Harris play to her strengths as Donald Trump's playbook looks tired. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter, Bell, Lauren C., Tatum, Amy and Leicht, Caroline Victoria (2024) Assessing ChatGPT as a tool for research on US state and territory politics. Political Studies Review, ISSN (print) 1478-9299 (Epub Ahead of Print)
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : milestones to November in a recalibrated election race. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : Biden steps down as the wheels of history continue turning. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : how the official record of the Trump assassination attempt is unfolding in real time. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 UK election and the official record : documenting history in real-time. Descrier,
Finn, Peter (2024) During the election, the ‘official record’ is documenting UK history in real-time. The Conversation,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : why this year's presidential debates are a break from tradition. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : Donald Trump's guilty verdict is an historic event. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : five takeaways from the special counsel’s report on Biden, and what it might mean for the election. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : the road to Inauguration Day 2025. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) As a classic 'wicked problem', education funding presents awkward choices across the political spectrum ahead of the general election. Public Sector Focus(50), pp. 54-55.
Finn, Peter (2024) Education funding presents tough choices for school leaders and awkward ones for politicians. LSE Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : six ways to think about the 2024 US primary season. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2024) The 2024 elections : the Democratic primary calendar is a mix of compromise and political reality, setting up the party for a real contest in 2028. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2023) The 2024 elections : the Republican road to the 2024 presidential election. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2023) The 2024 elections : five steps to the 2024 primaries. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2023) The 2024 elections : a new series on the contests for Congress and the White House. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,,
Finn, Peter (2023) The 2024 Democratic Primary Calendar is not settled yet. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2023) How the 2022 midterms have set the stage for 2024 presidential election. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert (2022) The 2022 Midterms : Trump aside, the midterms had something for everyone. LSE USAPP United States Politics and Policy Blog,
Finn, Peter (2021) Freedom of Information legislation and the democratic oversight narrative. Critical Military Studies, 7(3), pp. 335-354. ISSN (print) 2333-7486
Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert (2018) Transatlantic twilight? The impact of the Mueller Investigation on US-Europe relations. Ante Portas – Security Studies, 1(10), pp. 11-27. ISSN (online) 2353-6306
Finn, Peter (2014) Book Review of 'Civilian warrior : the inside story of Blackwater and the unsung heroes of the war on terror' by David Cobourn and Erik Prince. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 7(3), pp. 409-501. ISSN (print) 1753-9153
Finn, Peter [Editor] and Ledger, Robert [Editor] (2024) The official record : oversight, national security and democracy. Manchester, U.K. : Manchester University Press. 176p. ISBN 9781526174321
Finn, Peter (2024) ‘Caveats were down’ : the Canadian official record and the treatment of Maher Arar. In: Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert, (eds.) The official record : oversight, national security and democracy. Manchester, U.K. : Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526174321
Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert (2024) Introduction : the official record, oversight, national security and democracy. In: Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert, (eds.) The official record : oversight, national security and democracy. Manchester, U.K. : Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526174321
Finn, Peter (2024) ‘It’s Mueller time’ : the Mueller investigation, the official record and the rule of law. In: Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert, (eds.) The official record : oversight, national security and democracy. Manchester, U.K. : Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526174321
Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert (2024) Preface : defining and 'reading' the official record. In: Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert, (eds.) The official record : oversight, national security and democracy. Manchester, U.K. : Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526174321
Finn, Peter and Ledger, Robert (2023) Towards 24 : shifts in the US election system. In: Finn, Peter and Furse, Tom, (eds.) Exploring the 2023 Midterms. Political Studies Association. pp. 46-51.
Finn, Peter (2022) Democratising teaching : student votes and module case studies. In: Oprandi, Paolo and Betts, Tab, (eds.) 100 Ideas for Active Learning. Falmer, UK : University of Sussex Library. ISBN 9780995786271
Finn, Peter (2016) Grey areas and self-licking lollipops : Iraq War detention operations, impunity and complicity. In: Afxentiou, Afxentis , Dunford, Robin and Neu, Michael, (eds.) Exploring complicity : concept, cases and critique. London, U.K. : Rowman & Littlefield International. pp. 179-201. ISBN 9781786600615
Finn, Peter, Tatum, Amy, Leicht, Caroline and Bell, Lauren C. (2024) ‘50 states or bust!’ roundtable. In: 50th Annual Conference American Politics Group of the UK Political Studies Association; 4-6 January 2024, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2023) Towards 24 : Electoral shifts in the US election system, 2022-2024. In: 49th annual conference of the American Politics Group of the UK Political Studies Association; 5-7 Jan 2023, Leicester, U.K.. (In Press)
Finn, Peter (2022) Democratising teaching : student votes and module case studies. In: ALN Inaugural CPD Series, November 2022 : Session 3 : Empowering Learners; 22 Nov 2022, Held online. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2020) Covid-19 and democracy : country case studies. In: 11th Annual Faculty Research Conference: Contemporary Issues in Business and Social Science Research; 22 Jun 2020, Kingston upon Thames, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2020) The Mueller investigation, the official record and the rule of law. In: Political Studies Association American Politics Group Annual Conference 2020; 03 - 05 Jan 2020, Canterbury, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2019) The preservation and destruction of the official record and truth. In: 10th Annual Faculty Research Conference: Contemporary Issues in Business and Social Sciences in a period of uncertainty; 03 - 04 Jun 2019, Kingston upon Thames, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter and Molyneux, Camilla (2019) UK remote warfare and the future of parliamentary oversight. In: Conceptualising Remote Warfare: The Past, Present and Future; 01 Mar 2019, Canterbury, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2018) Freedom of information legislation and the democratic oversight narrative : cause for pause? In: British International Studies Association (BISA) 43rd Annual Conference; 13 -15 Jun 2018, Bath, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2016) Excellence in teaching by post-graduate students. In: British International Studies Association (BISA) 41st Annual Conference; 15 -17 Jun 2016, Edinburgh, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2016) Mapping the (in)effectiveness of royal prerogative oversight. In: Who takes Britain to war?; 20 Jan 2016, Leicester, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2015) The US, the UK, the Iraq war, detention operations, impunity and complicity. In: Complicity Conference; 31 Mar - 01 Apr 2015, Brighton, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2014) Questionable national security policies, clean operations strategies, ethics and the importance of the ‘other’. In: European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference; 03 - 06 Sep 2014, Glasgow. U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter (2013) Beyond Abu Ghraib – military detention, abuse, Iraq and US power. In: British International Studies Association (BISA) 38th Annual Conference; 19 - 21 Jun 2013, Birmingham, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Finn, Peter [Editor] and Furse, Tom [Editor] (2023) Exploring the 2022 US Midterms. (Discussion Paper) Political Studies Association. 52 p.
Finn, Peter, Cinpoes, Radu and Hill, Emily (2022) The Covid-19 pandemic, A Levels, and transitions to UK Higher Education. (Project Report) Kingston upon Thames, U.K. : Kingston University. 16 p. (Covid Policy Briefs: E-Briefing Papers from The Covid-19 and Democracy Project)
Finn, Peter, Imiola, Madison and Ledger, Robert (2021) Pandemic politics : Covid-19 and the 2020 US Electoral Cycle. (Project Report) Kingston upon Thames, U.K. : Kingston University. 34 p.
Finn, Peter [Editor], Cinpoes, Radu [Author-contributor], Ichijo, Atsuko [Author-contributor], Ledger, Robert [Author-contributor], Nancheva, Nevena [Author-contributor], Pettitt, Robin [Author-contributor] and Ranta, Ronald [Author-contributor] (2020) Covid-19 and democracy, first cut policy analyses : country case studies. (Project Report) Kingston University. 92 p.
Finn, Peter (2020) The PhD and the powerful. (Project Report) London, U.K. : British International Studies Association Postgraduate Network. 24 p. (British International Studies Association Postgraduate Network Briefing Paper)
Finn, Peter [Presenter] (2020) Covid-19 and democracy. (podcast).
Finn, Peter [Producer] and Criminology, politics and sociology, Kingston University. (Podcast). (58 min.)
Finn, Peter (2019) Democratic impunity : the case of the Iraq war detention regime. (PhD thesis), Kingston University, .
I am the Web Lead for the American Politics Group of the Political Studies Association and a regular media commentator.
I have published on teaching practice and PG networking.
Management of module teaching teams and research assistants at Kingston University
Management of Web Team of the American Politics Group of the Political Studies Association
Editor of various research and writing teams for reports and a forthcoming edited volume
Kingston University, Holmwood House, Grove Crescent, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE. Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 9000
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