If you are able to join us in celebrating Tim's life on June 9th at 12:00 at St. Clement's Church, we encourage you to dress informally and comfortably and wear a touch of blue in his honor. Following the service, we will gather at St. Clement's Hall for an informal reception.
Here is a link to the funeral, which was live streamed: https://youtu.be/OHGJS1uV9JQ
Here is a link to the order of service: http://shorturl.at/rCOZ5
We will share more here when we can, but, for now, here is what Tim's colleagues at University of Warwick shared about him:
Dr Timothy J. Sinclair
It is with huge sadness that we announce the passing of Timothy J. Sinclair. Tim was a leading scholar of the global political economy of money and finance. His work on credit rating agencies pioneered research into how power operates in financial markets, leading to two highly acclaimed books: To the Brink of Destruction: America’s Bond Rating Agencies and Financial Crisis (Cornell University Press, 2021), and The New Masters of Capital: American Bond Rating Agencies and the Politics of Creditworthiness (Cornell University Press, 2005). In these and in his writings more generally, Tim’s work challenged the idea that financial markets are the domain of technocrats and economists, highlighting the social foundations of finance. For Tim, this meant not just pointing to the power that financial actors exert over states, but to the sources of political power and influence at work within financial markets themselves demonstrating the significance of private power and authority within structures of global governance.
Following a career at the New Zealand Treasury, Tim began his academic journey as a PhD student at York University, Toronto. Tim worked closely with Robert W. Cox and Stephen Gill and his work bears some of the traces of their neo-Gramscian approach to IPE, although Tim himself always sought to develop a more ‘eclectic’ research approach grounded in fine-grained empirical analysis – an approach that was as much inspired by the work of his former PAIS colleague Susan Strange as it was by Cox and Gill. Tim collaborated closely with Cox on the publication of his collected works Approaches to World Order (Cambridge University Press 1996), a book that remains to this day a classic contribution to the IPE canon.
Tim was one of the longest serving members of PAIS, joining the department in 1995. At the time, IPE was not a subject that was widely taught in the UK and Tim formed part of a group of scholars that would cement PAIS’s place as one of the main centres of IPE scholarship. Tim taught generations of students at all levels of the undergraduate and postgraduate programme and served in numerous administrative roles. Tim’s intellectual imprint and legacy on the department is significant. Many current and former members of the IPE cluster in PAIS, including Fumihito Gotoh, Lena Rethel and Johannes Petry—and the International Studies community more broadly—have benefitted from being taught or supervised by Tim, and have been inspired by his work.
Beyond his intellectual legacy, we will miss Tim immensely. We will always remember his enormous collection of model aircraft kits, which he carefully curated in his office for many years. We will miss his good humour, his no-nonsense attitude (unless he was talking about cars) and jovial chats in the corridor. As a department our hearts go out to his wife Nicole and his young son Henry as we are still struggling to believe that Tim is gone.
So long, Tim. I will cherish the moments when our corridor chats would temporarily cease so that we could check whether we were laughing with one another or at one another, and then after another laugh we would carry on regardless because it never mattered one way or the other. I am missing those moments, and I am missing you.
This is such sad news. Tim was always ready with encouraging words while I was doing my PhD at Warwick. His work on bringing Cox's oeuvre together and pointing me on from it to new ideas related to my work, even though he wasn't my supervisor was greatly appreciated. He will be sorely missed by all.
I've been deeply saddened by Tim's passing. I can't say that we were close mates, but we knew each other over a long period of time and we were due to have lunch in York in July. That will now never happen. I just liked Tim a lot. He was a gentleman in a world in which many were not. I shall miss his quiet, understated, deeply sincere manner and my heart goes out to Nicole and Henry whom I've never met but wish I had.
With love, Pen and Neil Jacques
Thinking of you and Henry, and wishing you peace and grace in these difficult times
The news of Tim's passing came as a big shock to me. He and I have known each other since our days as doctoral students at York University. We were very good friends, although our fields of study were different (international political economy and international security). In fact, I was one of those who supported his application for permanent residence in Canada. I will surely miss the warmth of his friendship and his good sense of humor but know for sure that his intellectual legacy will live on. Farewell, my dear friend. Sorpong
My heart is broken by this very sad and devastating news. Tim was not just an outstanding scholar, teacher, and author, he was a wonderful friend to me during our days at York University. I recall our shared interest in the links between International Political Economy and International organization and the pivotal book featuring the scholarship of Robert Cox, which he undertook to edit. I also recall making a pitch to the Master of Stong College to hire Tim as Residence Tutor of the College to replace me when I was moving on to Bishops' University in Quebec. Tim did a fantastic job with the students at Stong College until he got a full-time position at Warwick University. Tim Sinclair was an excellent human being. I am saddened by his passing and I hope that somehow Nicole and Henry will have the strength to make it through this very difficult time. May Tim's soul rest in eternal peace.
Andy
In memory of Tim, a wonderful colleague, greatly missed
This is such a devastating loss. Nicole and Henry - Annika and I send our deepest condolences. You are very much in our thoughts, and we can only hope that the raw sadness you must feel now will dissipate in favour of warmer memories. I saw a lot less of Tim in recent years than I would have liked, but we go back a long way. We started a Warwick at pretty much the same time in 1995. We had offices close to one another, lunched together frequently, taught on the same courses, chatted about all sorts (Star Trek was a frequent conversation topic, I recall) and laughed - a lot. Back then, I was scuffing around the foothills of IPE, finding my way in a field that was still new to me. It was reading Tim's work, talking to him and benefitting from his warm-hearted intellectual generosity that - more than anything, if I'm honest - made me an IPE scholar. Of course, I wasn't in his league. His work on credit rating is absolutely seminal and I know from generations of students (some of whom would wash up here in Copenhagen) what profound influence he exerted in the classroom. He will be missed and I will miss him. I often think of Tim. I thought of him today in fact. Annika made a comment that brought back a fond memory of Tim from an age ago that made me smile. And then I quickly remembered that he's gone and the smile was gone too. Farewell, Tim - and thank you for crossing my path.
Unfortunately, I did not know Tim myself, but I have heard great stories about him as a kind and inspiring supervisor and fantastic mentor. It's a terrible loss. My sincere condolences to his family.
Tim and I started out our careers about the same time in the 1990s, and we collaborated on a co-edited volume that came out in 2001. Tim was a great colleague and very generous friend. I will miss him greatly. My condolences to Nicole and Henry.
In loving memory of a wonderful husband and father- his most important and cherished role.
Sending love, Anna and Shaul
I was very upset by the news of Tim’s passing. We co-taught PO926 and debated theories of global governance. In later years we talked less about IR/IPE and more about fatherhood. I was always inspired by what he had to say on both topics. A tragic loss, deeply felt.
Jackie and I were devastated by the news that Tim had passed away. We still can't believe that he's gone. It's an incredible shock. He was so full of life and such a force of nature! I knew him for almost 20 years, Jackie knew him even longer. We talked and laughed about everything from American politics, to the pros and cons of beards, to the relative merits of Airfix versus Tamiya model kits within his infamously extensive collection. Tim and I shared a disdain for pointless bureaucracy and I've lost count of the number of times he would knock on my door to have a rant about something else ridiculous the university was doing! Our hearts go out to you, Nicole and Henry, who Tim talked so lovingly about in recent years. It's a terrible loss, far too soon. We miss you Tim...
Sending lots of love to you both Nicole and Henry.
With much love from Megan, Stuart, Nate and Orla xx
Tim and I started in the PhD programme at York on the same day. We were both new to Canada and shared many a laugh about our new country. I liked him a lot, especially his wit, and his plainspoken approach to the world. Tim always seemed so assured and confident; in equal measure he inspired and intimidated me with a supreme sense of focus and direction. While I was still dithering over my thesis idea he had already identified bond-rating agencies as his topic and lined up a bunch of interviews with assorted financial sharks and hot shots on Wall Street! And he was editing a book for good measure. I think I once told him he was in-Tim-idating. I am so sad and shocked he has passed away. My sincere condolences to his family.
I overlapped with Tim for only three or four years at Warwick, but had already come to enjoy his company by the time I left the university, confident that the IPE course started by Fred Hirsch, Robert Skidelsky and I back in the ‘70s was in good hands.
Such a shock to hear of Tim's passing. He was a regular member of IPMS Mercia model club until he moved to York and was a very competent model maker. We remember him as such a nice person, generous and kind to everyone. I am sure he will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
Tim and Henry at a Canadian lake.
Wedding day.
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