Staff Profile

Adam completed his undergraduate LLB degree in Law at Newcastle University, following which he was awarded an LLM with distinction in International Law. He completed his PhD at Durham University with no corrections.

Adam’s research spans the intersection between philosophy, public law, public international law, and history. His current work concentrates, first, on developing a Nietzschean philosophy of western legal/political theory, with a particular focus on theorising the nature of Critical and Postcritical scholarship. His upcoming book, The Rise and Fall of a Global Order: Nietzsche, Sovereignty, and the Power of Nihilism, is due to be published with Routledge in December 2026. Second, he is researching the period of the Napoleonic Empire and its connections to / legacy for public law, international public law and international relations. His previous work in this period has explored the exiling of Napoleon I and its connection to the theorisation of sovereignty at the beginning of the 19^th century century. Currently, Adam is researching the French invasion of Egypt and the discourse of Oriental despotism, as well as, in collaboration with Dr Ruth Houghton, the constitutional thought of Madame de Stael.

• Constitutional Law
• Administrative Law and Human Rights

• Articles

  • Rowe A. Dionysus in chains: Nietzsche, nihilism, and the pursuit of emancipation. London Review of International Law 2026, Epub ahead of print.
  • Rowe, A. Devil's Gambit: Talleyrand, Egypt, and the Hunt for Colonies. Journal of the History of International Law 2026. Submitted.
  • Rowe A, Houghton R. Authoring the Nation: Madame de Staël and the Literary Origins of the State. Pólemos 2025, 19(2), 281-307.
  • Rowe, A. Prometheus caged: The exiling of Napoleon and the Law of Nations, 1814-1821. Leiden Journal of International Law 2023, 36(3).

• Authored Book

  • Rowe, A. The Rise and Fall of a Global Order: Nietzsche, Sovereignty, and the Power of Nihilism. Routledge, 2026. In Preparation.

• Book Chapter

  • O'Donoghue A, Rowe A. Feminism, Global Inequality and the 1975 Mexico City Conference. In: Adami, R; Plesch, D, ed. Women and the UN: A New History of Women's International Human Rights. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2021, pp.88-103.