School of Politics and International Relations

Research Projects

Our research is international in scope and covers many important aspects of our political and social world in the UK and abroad.

This is a selection of ongoing projects that reflect the research done in the school:

 gold and silver metal cogs

Assessing the Drivers and Consequences of 'Multi-Level' States' Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic in the G7

Funder: The British Academy 
Principal Investigator: Dr Simon Toubeau
Duration: July 2023 - December 2024

As part of the British Academy's programme on 'Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons to Learn from Covid-19 across the G7', this project will assess why 'multi-level' states responded to the pressures of the time so differently, and consider how they can be helped to better coordinate their responses to future pandemics. 

 Female walking alone on dark street

Contradictions in UK Migrant Law and Women's Advocacy: the Case of Trafficked/ Undocumented Filipino Women 

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council
Principal Investigator: Dr Pauline Eadie
Duration: April 2025 - April 2026

The project examines the issue of 'tied' visas that bind migrant workers or partner/spouses to designated households in the UK. We will explore the extent to which tied visas facilitate abuse as victims are dependent on their employers or spouse/partner for their legal immigration status.

 

Spheres fading from black to grey

Inter-Minority Coalition or Conflict? Identity Formation and Inter-Minority Relations between Black and Asian Communities in the UK and US

Funder: British Academy
Principal Investigator: Dr Neema Begum
Duration: April 2024 – April 2026

Funded by the British Academy, Neema's project will use an interdisciplinary, cross-country approach to interrogate how identity formation and community has developed between Black and Asian communities in the UK and US. It will identify where interracial convergence and divergence exist in social and political attitudes, memory and popular representations.
The project will be implemented in collaboration with Dr Hannah Thuraisingam Robbins (Department of Music), Dr Uditi Sen (Department of History), Dr Tanika Raychaudhuri (Rice University) and Dr Nicole Burrowes (Rutgers University).  It will will start in April 2024 and run for two years. 

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Queering the Commons: Overcoming Polarisation with Identity-based Connections 

Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Principal Investigator: Dr William Daniel
Duration: February 2025- January 2026

This project, led by Will Daniel, explores how politicians from different political parties – but with similar personal backgrounds – use personal commonalities as a way of building professional connections that can ultimately relieve contentious forms of polarisation. The project takes inspiration from scholarship on ethnic and gender identity’s effects on political behaviour that has been less explored for sexuality. It argues that identities that divide us in one setting might bind us in another.

 

 Stack of arid rocks

Security, Democratisation, and Elite Politics in the Sahel

Funder: Economic and Social Resource Council (ESRC)
Principal Investigator: Dr Eloïse Bertrand
Duration: February 2023-April 2026

Dr Bertrand's project is implemented in collaboration with the Institut Général Marc Tiémoko Garango pour la Gouvernance et le Développement (IGD) in Burkina Faso, the Department of Peace, Security, and Humanitarian Studies at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in the UK.

The project's findings will contribute to the evidence base informing civil society groups' and international partners' engagement in the region. 

Taiwan Research Hub

Taiwan Research Hub

Funder: Taipei Representative Office in the UK
Principal Investigator: Dr Chun-yi Lee
Duration: August 2023 – September 2027

The Taiwan Research Hub brings together researchers from different disciplines and career stages to improve our understanding of Taiwan. We look at the fields of politics, history, culture, society, international relations, and economy.

 

Group of red counters set apart from single brown counterTraining Executives to Enhance Employee Engagement in Government: Field Experimental Evidence from Luxembourg

Funder: Economic and Social Resource Council (ESRC) and Luxemburg National Research Fund
Principal Investigator: Professor Christian Schuster (University College London)
Co-investigators: Professor Jan Meyer-Sahling (University of Nottingham); Professor Kim Sass Mikkelsen (Roskilde University)
Duration: January 2023- December 2025

This research project examines how executive engagement training can enhance leadership and improve public sector performance in Luxembourg. 

The study addresses a critical challenge in public administration – how to boost employee engagement in government organisations, where rigid structures, limited managerial discretion, and increasing workloads often lead to disengagement.

 

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