Mervyn Frost (born 1947) is a South African and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Life

Frost was born and brought up in Johannesburg, he studied at Highlands North Boys High School, the

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

(BA, MA,

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

) and as a Rhodes Scholar at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(BPhil).

Career

Initially Frost taught at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public research university located in Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the province's oldest ...

and was then appointed to the Chair of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

(South Africa). In 1996 he moved to England where he was appointed Professor of

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

in Canterbury. In 2003 he moved to London to his present position as Professor of International Relations in the Department of War Studies,

King’s College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. From 2007 to 2013 he was Head of the Department of War Studies, KCL (DWS). He is a past President of the South African Association of Political Studies and former editor of ''Politikon'' and currently serves on the editorial board of several journals including ''Review of International Studies''; ''South African Journal of International Affairs''; ''Politics and Ethics Review''; ''Journal of International Political Theory''; ''International Political Sociology, Politics and Governance''; ''The Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, Defence Strategic Communications''. Frost was on the Executive Committee of the

International Studies Association The International Studies Association (ISA) is a US-based professional association for scholars and practitioners in the field of international studies. Founded in 1959, ISA has been headquartered at the University of Connecticut in Storrs sin ...

(ISA) and until 2008 Chairman of the International Ethics Section of the ISA. He was appointed a Fellow of King's College London in 2018.Fellows and Honorary Fellows of King's College London
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Personal life

He is married to Lola Frost who is an artist. They have two daughters, Sarah who is a poet living in Durban and Anna who is a doctor in Cape Town. They have four grandchildren: Joseph, Thomas, Samuel and Ella.

Selected publications

Frost developed and elaborated a theory of international relations known as “Constitutive Theory” which he articulated in a number of books and articles including: * ''Towards a Normative Theory of International Relation'' (CUP, 1986) * ''Ethics in International Relations'' (CUP, 1996) * ''Constituting Human Rights: Global Civil Society and the Society of Democratic States'' (Routledge, 2002) * ''Global Ethics: Anarchy, Freedom and International Relations'' (Routledge, 2009) * ''Practice Theory and International Relations'', co-authored with Silviya Lechner (Cambridge University Press 2018) He edited a 4 volume reference work entitled ''International Ethics'' (Sage 2011). His recent work, with Dr Silviya Lechner, is focused on the “practice turn” in International Relations. They co-authored: "Two Conceptions of International Practice: Aristotelian ''praxis'' or Wittgensteinian ''language-games''?" in ''Review of International Studies'' Volume 42 / Issue 02 / April 2016, pp 334 – 350 and "Understanding international relations from the internal point of view" July 2015 in ''Journal of International Political Theory'' p. 1-21. His recent publications include: * "Strategic communications in international relations: practical traps and ethical puzzles" (co-author Nicholas Michelsen) in ''Defence Strategic Communications, Vol 2, Spring 2017, pp 9-34'' * "Ethical traps in international relations" (co-author Richard Ned Lebow), ''International Relations'', (published online) November 2018, hard copy ''International Relations'', 2018 * "Practice Theory and International Relations: a reply to our critics" in ''Global Constitutionalism'' (published online), 2020, Vol 9, Issue 1, pp 220–239

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Mervyn 1947 births South African political scientists Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Kent University of Cape Town academics University of KwaZulu-Natal faculty Fellows of King's College London Living people South African emigrants to the United Kingdom