'Politics and Foreign Policy research cluster director, Paul McGarr, is selected for the AHRC's Engaging with Government programme at the Institute for Government's (IfG)

The AHRC's ‘Engaging with Government’ programme, run in partnership with the Institute for Government, is designed to build links between policy makers and researchers in the arts and humanities sector. Working with a range of senior civil servants, researchers, politicians, and media professionals, Paul McGarr will join a small group of academics to explore opportunities for engagement with national policy makers, and to examine ways in which humanities research can make a valuable contribution to public policy.

Paul's current research focuses on the nature and utility of ‘soft power’ as an instrument of international diplomacy, and more specifically, the UK government’s record of working with the British Council to harness cultural capital in pursuit of foreign policy objectives.'