Bell’s first degree was a BA in War Studies from King’s College London (1995–1998).
He was awarded an M.Phil in International Relations (1999) and a PhD in History (2004) from the University of Cambridge, where he was a student at Jesus College.
During the academic year 2000–2001 he was a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University.
After a Junior Research Fellowship at Christ’s College, Cambridge (2004–2008), and a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2008–2010), Bell was appointed to a Lectureship in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS).
He has held visiting positions at Harvard, Darmstadt and the FU Berlin.