Before that Callahan was Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
[1][2][3] Callahan was Chair Professor of International Politics and China Studies at the University of Manchester (2005–2013), and co-director of the British Inter-University China Centre, University of Oxford.
[4] Callahan serves on the editorial board of Journal of Contemporary China.
In the early 1990s, Callahan lived in Bangkok, Thailand where he worked at The Nation newspaper writing editorial essays, and at Rangsit University as the Director of the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Programme.
In addition to writing books and articles, Callahan--under the name "Bill Callahan"--makes documentary films, including "toilet adventures" (2015), "Mearsheimer vs. Nye on the Rise of China" (2015), "Great Walls" (2020), and "The Nose Knows: Foreignness and Fortune in China" (2024) that explores how Chinese understand identity, difference, and foreign affairs.