Brief History
Dr. James Finan has a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science in International Relations (Stategic Studies). For a period of 18 years he was a Defence Scientist with the Operational Research and Analysis Establishment (ORAE). During that time, he was mainly concerned with the strategic relationship between the superpowers with particular attention being paid to the doctrinal and technological aspects of the nuclear relationship. As part of this work, he was responsible for helping with the development of a Canadian Department of National Defence annual strategic assessment in which an effort was made to evaluate systematically national risks/threats and to develop appropriate responses. During his time with ORAE, Dr. Finan was both Director of Strategic Analysis and director of Social and Economic Analysis.
At RMC, his research interests include a continuing interest strategic analysis as well as conflict analysis and quantitative models in international politics. Regionally, he has research interests in the area of Sub-Saharan Africa particularly in terms of on-going strategic developments.