Xavier Khan
Co-founder & Editor
Economics · Durham University
Economics student with interests in economics, financial markets, investment, technology and economic policy.
A platform for the next generation of thinkers.
The Observatory was founded by Xavier Khan and Giorgio Montecelli as a space for students to publish serious analysis and engage with questions across economics, finance, politics and philosophy.
We are a student-led publication based in Durham. Everything here is researched, written and edited by students — and held to a standard we would be comfortable defending in a seminar.
Why we started
Students produce a great deal of genuinely interesting work: essays, dissertations, data projects, arguments worked out over months. Almost none of it is read by anyone other than the person marking it. What is missing is not the thinking — it is a professional platform through which to publish it.
That is the gap this project exists to fill. We wanted somewhere that treats student work as worth publishing properly, and holds it to the standard that implies.
What we stand for
Independent thinking
We are not affiliated with any party, society or institutional line. Writers argue for what they can defend.
Evidence-based analysis
Claims are supported with data, sources and reasoning a reader can check and disagree with.
Interdisciplinary perspectives
Economics, politics and philosophy are treated as one conversation, because in practice they are.
Student-led research
Original work by students — not summaries of what established publications already said.
Intellectual debate
We publish disagreement, including with ourselves, and we correct errors in public.
Clarity over jargon
Complex arguments written so a smart reader outside the field can follow them.
Founders
All contributors →Giorgio Montecelli
Co-founder & Editor
Politics & Philosophy · Durham University
Politics & Philosophy student with interests in political economy, public policy, political theory, institutions and international affairs.
Write with us
If you have an argument worth making, we would rather have your draft than your hesitation.