Dr Marco Vieira joined the Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) at the University of Birmingham in January 2010 having previously taught international relations at LSE, King’s College and SOAS. His research focuses on the rising influence and identity of ‘Southern powers’, specially South Africa, India and Brazil. He is particularly interested in their growing impact on global governance and politics through new models of South-South political cooperation. Dr. Vieira is also interested, and has contributed to, theoretical debates on ontological security in International Relations theory. He has published various peer-reviewed articles in internationally recognised academic journals, such as Review of International Studies, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Studies Review, Environmental Politics, Global Governance, Global Society, among others. He is the co-author of the book The South in World Politics (with Chris Alden and Sally Morphet)