His main interest is in the relation between social theory, particularly political economy, and geography.
More specific interests are critical realism and marxism.
Professor Cox is a political geographer with strong interests in theory and method. Several courses and seminars of interest to graduate students are taught. South Africa is an extraordinarily interesting country. It is distinctive to the point of being regarded as exceptional, even in the past an aberration. At the same time its study clarifies crucial social processes like colonialism, racialization, the politics of urbanization, tribalism and the formation of democracies.