I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From September 2008 I will be a research fellow in the Energy Policy Program at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. From September 2009 I will take up an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Elliot School of International Affairs and Department of Political Science at George Washington University in Washington D.C.
My research engages the question of how market liberalization constrains/enhances state policy-making. In my dissertation I examine how changes in the structure of the international petroleum market have affected the energy policies of Japan, the United States and France. I am also interested in the domestic political economy of energy technology transfers, the international relations of Northeast Asia, and Sino-Japanese economic relations.
Prior to entering the doctoral program I was a public affairs specialist in Tokyo, Japan, where I lived for nine years. During this time I advised clients in the energy, telecommunications and retail sectors on the management of government relations. From 1998-2000 I was also employed as international aide and interpreter to Ichirō Ozawa, current leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
I speak and read Japanese fluently, and have trained as an interpreter in that language. I also have language skills in Mandarin Chinese and German.
email: lhughes@mit.edu
Curriculum Vitae (pdf)