Overview
Our broad range of research means you can specialise in topics including:
- political philosophy
- comparative institutions or behaviour
- British politics
- international relations
- race and ethnicity
- gender
You'll receive training on how to become an independent researcher. You'll be supported by a supervisory team of at least two members of our research staff who will guide you through the research process. Your supervisors will also play a key role in helping you develop a thesis project that will open job opportunities in academia or outside of academia depending on your goals.
Meet our Politics research students and read more about their research
You will be able to take part in the Researcher Education and Development. This is an advanced and interdisciplinary research training and researcher development programme created by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
You'll also have the opportunity to enrol in the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Training. This provides a broader knowledge of different research methodologies. It equips you with the skills to carry out advanced research in your area of interest.
Examine the issues thrown up by the social and political differences of humanity from a variety of perspectives including:
- analytical and continental political philosophy
- comparative politics
- international politics
- post-colonialism
Examine the different forms of political participation that link society to the political systems of the world. We look at both the formal electoral process and non-electoral politics (social movements, protest groups, etc) Our research on the emergence of virtual political participation means that some of our work intersects with popular culture and political communication.
Focus on the history of political thought as well as how these ideas are part of programmes for political action. Our research incorporates both historical and contemporary political thought prominent in the Western tradition as well as Asian philosophy and post-colonial thinking. This is an interdisciplinary theme, serving as a bridge between empirical political science and political theory.
Study the importance of political ideas such as sustainable development and globalisation, as well as the struggle to define the core problems that society faces.
These challenges pose questions to the nature and reform of global governance, while generating tensions between the state and transnational forces in global politics and political economy.
We also focus the interaction of economic forces and principles with political power in the development of societal economics and welfare, as well as on theories of development and post-development. We cover a range of geographic areas in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Examine the role of interest groups, social movements, political parties, third-sector actors and charities, community organisations and postcolonial nationalism in relation to the modern state. We draw from ancient and modern political thought to understand the interpretation of democracy (including democratic rights and the foundations of democracy).
Focus on the interaction of economic forces and principles with political power in the development of societal economics and welfare, as well as on theories of development and post-development. We cover a range of geographic areas in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Focus on thinking critically about the political dynamics, consequences and discourses of historical and contemporary geopolitics. We cover both historical and contemporary questions of security which also arise in relation to the migration-security nexus and other intersections.
Take an active role in the global debate on the units, actors and structures that shape the dynamics of international politics. Our research covers the political consequences of the constitution of the international as a distinct kind of relation.
Investigate the dynamics driving public policy-making at national, EU and international levels. We focus on the challenges multi-level governance offers for concerns about legitimacy and accountability. This includes the changing relationship between the governing and the governed over matters of politics and policy. Our geographic scope includes the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia, and the Mediterranean
Reflect on the increasing need to tackle issues at a global rather than a state-only level. We tackle questions of justice from an issue perspective as well as surveys of nationalism, states, and various non-cosmopolitan theories of global justice.
We're committed to theoretical and methodological pluralism. We also support PhD students who want to pursue an interdisciplinary research agenda.
Our academic researchers are published in top-ranked academic journals and work in close collaboration with over 3,000 non-academic partners locally and around the world.
Our programme is international, with students coming from 27 countries in the last six years.
We welcome research projects devoted to politics subjects, as well as interdisciplinary work that attracts engagement from other departments and universities.
