Cochrane, Alasdair, Professor

Professor Alasdair Cochrane

Department of Politics and International Relations

Professor of Political Theory

a.cochrane@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 1650

Elmfield Building

Full contact details

Professor Alasdair Cochrane
Department of Politics and International Relations
Elmfield Building
Northumberland Road
Sheffield
S10 2TU

Profile

Alasdair Cochrane received a First Class BA in Politics from the Сŷ��Ƶ of Sheffield in 2000. He then went on to complete an MSc in Political Theory, a PGCHE and his PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was then Fellow in Human Rights and then Lecturer in Human Rights at the LSE.

Alasdair rejoined the Department of Politics at the Сŷ��Ƶ of Sheffield as Lecturer in Political Theory in January 2012.

Alasdair Cochrane’s main research interests include: contemporary political theory, rights theory, human rights, environmental ethics, animal ethics and bioethics.

Research interests

The Ethics of Imprisonment
Cosmopolitan approaches to animal rights.
The anthropocentrism of human rights.
Global Food Justice (PDF:108KB)

Prizes and fellowships

AHRC / BBC New Generation Thinker 2014
Leverhulme Research Fellowship 2014-15 (for work on ‘Beastly Cosmopolitanism’)

Publications

Books

(2024) . Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ PressOxford.
Cochrane A (2020) Should Animals Have Political Rights?. Polity.
Cochrane A (2018) . Oxford: Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ Press.
Cochrane A (2012) Animal Rights Without Liberation - Applied Ethics and Human Obligations. Columbia Сŷ��Ƶ Press.
Cochrane A (2010) . Palgrave MacMillan.

Journal articles

Fenwick D, Tomczak P & Cochrane A (2022) . Medical Law International.
Milburn J & Cochrane A (2021) . Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 41(4), 1149-1172.
Thompson MS, Cochrane A & Hopma J (2020) . Review of International Studies, 46(4), 435-455.
Celermajer D, Chatterjee S, Cochrane A, Fishel S, Neimanis A, O’Brien A, Reid S, Srinivasan K, Schlosberg D & Waldow A (2020) . Contemporary Political Theory, 19(3), 475-512.
Cochrane A, Garner R & O’Sullivan S (2018) . Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 21(2), 261-277.
Cochrane A (2015) . Criminal Law and Philosophy.
Cochrane A (2013) . Global Policy, 4(4), 369-370.
Cochrane A (2013) Cosmozoopolis: The Case Against Group-Differentiated Animal Rights. Law, Ethics and Philosophy, 1, 127-141.
Cochrane A (2012) Evaluating 'Bioethical Approaches' to Human Rights. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 1-14.
Cochrane A (2010) . Bioethics, 24(5), 234-241.
Cochrane A (2009) . Utilitas, 21(4), 424-442.
Cochrane A (2009) . Political Studies, 57(3), 660-679.
(2009) . International Affairs, 85(4), 871-914.
Cochrane A (2007) . Res Publica, 13(3), 293-318.
Cojocaru M-D & Cochrane A () . Ethics, Policy & Environment.
Cochrane A & Cojocaru M-D () . Journal of Social Philosophy.
Cochrane A & Cooke S () . Journal of Global Ethics, 12(1), 106-121.
Cochrane A () . Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy.

Chapters

Cochrane A & Cojocaru MD (2024) , Solidarity with Animals: Promises, Pitfalls, and Potential (pp. 1-16).
Cochrane A & Cojocaru M-D (2024) , Solidarity with Animals (pp. 1-16). Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ PressOxford
Cochrane A & Cojocaru M-D (2024) (pp. 184-186). Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ PressOxford
Cochrane A & Srinivasan K (2021) , Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary Social and Political Theory (pp. 584-592).
Cochrane A (2019) In Blattner CE, Coulter K & Kymlicka W (Ed.), Animal Labour Oxford: Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ Press.
Cochrane A (2017) RIGHTS, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Utilitarianism (pp. 480-483).
Cochrane A (2017) ANIMALS, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Utilitarianism (pp. 16-21).
Cochrane A (2016) Labour Rights for Animals In Garner R & O'Sullivan S (Ed.), The Political Turn in Animal Ethics Rowman & Littlefield International
cochrane A (2015) Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? Specifying the Rights of Animals In Visak T & Garner R (Ed.), The Ethics of Killing Animals (pp. 201-214). Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ Press, USA
Cochrane A (2014) Born in Chains? The Ethics of Animal Domestication In Gruen L (Ed.), The Ethics of Captivity (pp. 156-173). Oxford Сŷ��Ƶ Press, USA
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 136-146). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 1-9). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 93-114). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 115-135). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 10-28). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 72-92). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 29-49). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Cochrane A (2010) , An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory (pp. 50-71). Palgrave Macmillan UK
() Routledge

Research group: Alasdair Cochrane is currently supervising, and is interested in supervising, PhD projects on a range of issues in contemporary political theory, including: human rights; non-human rights; environmental political theory; and bioethics.

Teaching activities: The modules that I teach in the Department explore some extremely contentious political issues: minority rights; abortion; humanitarian intervention; animal rights; euthanasia; and many more besides! The wonderful thing about studying political theory, in my view, is that it provides individuals with the tools to tackle such difficult topics directly and confidently. As such, in my teaching practice, my primary aim is to help students to develop the skills necessary to do that. I thus build classes around helping students to expose and critically reflect on their preconceptions. And my ultimate objective is to enable students to construct clear and robust arguments in relation to some of the most important topics in modern political life.

Professor Alasdair Cochrane discusses how and why we establish human rights, and what implication this has for the rights of animals.

Professional activities and memberships

Co-Director of (Sheffield Animals Studies Research Centre)

Radio broadcasts

Supervision Expertise

Animal politics
Environmental political theory
Most other areas of political theory