Research and publications
Our
research
As one of the largest departments in Europe we have researchers working in many
areas of political science research. Some examples of our research include:
International Relations
Conflict analysis and civil
wars
Part of a larger research programme
on
Disaggregating Civil Wars, a group
of researchers from Essex examined how
third parties and transnational linkages
influenced interactions between central
government and insurgent groups.
Civil War in Transnational Perspective
has
led to a number of
journal articles and book chapters.
Peacekeeping and post-conflict
reconstruction
Dr Ismene Gizelis is investigating
the role of women's organisations in
peace building in the wake of civil war.
The research findings are due out later
this year but you can
read more about the project.
Elections, institutions and political behaviour
Public attitudes to policy
Our
Department hosts the National Policy Monitor, a new high-quality longitudinal study of
public attitudes to policy delivery in Britain. It will provide monthly data on
public experiences of and attitudes to delivery in local and central government,
as well as in selected areas of the private sector.
Public attitudes to war
Dr Tom
Scotto is currently working to better understand the nature and consequences
of the foreign policy attitudes of individuals from six advanced democracies
(United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, France, Germany and the US). More information
and outputs can be found on the
Economic and
Social Research Council website.
On the domestic front, Dr Rob Johns is also investigating
foreign
policy attitudes and support for war among the British public.
Public
policy
Professor Anthony King has a major research project to investigate the
Causes, consequences and lesson learned from policy and administrative failure,
culminating in a book on political blunders due out next year.
Political theory
We have a long and distinguished tradition as a centre of social and
political theory. Our
Political Theory
Group is unique in bringing together leading scholars in the fields of
ideology and discourse analysis, and analytic political theory.
Comparative politics
Dictators,
dictatorships and authoritarian regimes
Following the launch of her latest book,
Dictators and Dictatorships,
Dr Natasha
Ezrow has given expert commentary to the media and made numerous
media
appearances in relation to the Arab Spring and Middle Eastern conflicts
since 2011.
Trust in government and electoral corruption
Dr
Sarah Birch explores the popular understanding of
political
ethics is Britain. A recent paper by Dr Birch titled There will be
burning and a-looting tonight: The social and political correlates of
law-breaking following the riots in the UK in August 2011 was featured in
the Independent newspaper and subsequently led to the three political party
leaders clashing over the research findings, again covered the next day by
the Independent.
The Political Economy of
Authoritarian Rule: Repression, Regime
Change and Third Party Intervention
Dr Vincenzo Bove has been awarded a
postdoctoral fellowship grant to study
how authoritarianism works, who the key
political actors are and how they
influence political outcomes. You can
read more about his project online.
Last modified on 14 March 2013