James Mayall worked at the Board of Trade in London before joining the International Relations Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He taught there until 1998 when he was elected as the first Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations and fellow of Sidney Sussex College. He has written widely on the history and nature of international society, the impact of nationalism on international conflict, the Commonwealth and North-South relations. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2001. His latest books are Power, Legitimacy and World Order (2023) , (co-edited with S. Pulipaka and K. Srinivasan); World Politics, Progress and its Limits (2013) and The New Protectorates (with RS de Oliveira) (2012).