Kim Richard Nossal


Kim Richard Nossal, PhD, FRSC, is a professor in the Department of Political Studies and the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Education and career

Born in London, England, Nossal was educated in Melbourne, Beijing, Toronto, and Hong Kong. He attended the University of Toronto, receiving his BA, MA, and PhD in 1977. In 1976 he joined the Department of Political Science at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he taught international relations and Canadian foreign policy for 25 years, serving as chair of the Department from 1989 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1996 respectively. In 2001, he was appointed as head of the Department of Political Studies at Queen's, a position he held until 2009. He was the Sir Edward Peacock Professor of International Relations from 2008 to 2013. From January 2011 to December 2013 he was the director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy in the School of Policy Studies. From July 2013 until June 2015, he was the executive director of the School of Policy Studies. In 2018-2019 he served as director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy.
Nossal has served as editor of International Journal, and as the North American editor of Global Change, Peace & Security and has served on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals, including Études Internationales, Revista Méxicana de Estudios Canadienses, and Civil Wars. He served as president of the Australian and New Zealand Studies Association of North America between 1999 and 2001, and president of the Canadian Political Science Association from 2005 to 2006. While serving as president of the Australian and New Zealand Studies Association of North America, Nossal also was appointed to head the academic selection committee of the Security and Defence Forum, the academic outreach program of the Department of National Defence. Following his appointment there in 2000, he became a chairman of the committee, remaining on this position until 2012 when DND shut it down. In 2017, Nossal was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Royal Military College of Canada. In 2019, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Nossal has authored several publications about Australian, Canadian and international politics in Foreign Affairs, The Interpreter, and the E-International Relations.

Publications