Research Sub-Fields

Comparative Politics
We have extensive expertise in comparative politics, which involves the study of the similarities and differences of domestic political institutions and behaviour. Whilst much of this work engages in comparison across states, the study of comparative politics also includes the examination of political institutions in a domestic context at national, regional and local levels.

Data Analysis
Modern social sciences can hardly be envisioned without data science. Our department has an active group of researchers that employs sophisticated tools and techniques as well as refines and produces new models and approaches. Most applications involve testing theoretical hypothesis and verifying whether there is empirical support for specific arguments and claims.

International Relations
We have developed a strong core of expertise in International Relations (IR). Our research covers each of the major sub-fields of IR, with particular expertise in international security, international political economy, conflict processes, international theory and international law.

Legal and Political Theory
Our department is home to a vibrant community of political and legal philosophers. Through our work, we aim to make progress in major scholarly debates while grappling with some of the most difficult moral questions faced by citizens and policymakers in today’s world.

Public Policy, Management and Regulation
Our department is home to a vibrant community of public policy and management scholars, who draw on multiple empirical methods to produce internationally-leading research. The Department counts on particular expertise in behavioral public policy, European public policy, social policy, public management, public finance and regulation.

Human Rights
We engage in cutting-edge research addressing the relationship between the practice, the theory and the empirical analysis of human rights standards. Our expertise encompasses both philosophical and empirical methodologies. We encourage multidisciplinary research, methodological excellence and policy-oriented research in the field of human rights.

European Politics and Policy
The European Union is a rapidly growing influence on all aspects of public policy in the UK, across the EU's Member States and beyond the region. Understanding supranational decision-processes and their normative foundation is therefore increasingly important for any student of domestic and global public policy in the 21st century.