Politics research
Our research covers a variety of cutting-edge topics, from the politics of food to global conflict, and from public policy to parliament. In the REF in 2021, which measures the influence of university research, 100% of our work was ranked internationally excellent and world leading for impact and 88% of our research outputs ranked in top categories.
Our academics engage with major contemporary challenges to do with the state of democracy, environmental issues, migration and other sources of international tensions. We undertake scholarly research on topical issues and disseminate it widely through blogs and events as well as through academic outlets. Our research is closely linked to our teaching, and many of our students work in sectors which we engage with in our research.
We have two main research clusters:
- British Politics and Public Policy: Our work in this area ranges from promoting the right to food and exploring the gendering of welfare discourse through to research on political communication, freedom of information and delegation of scientific and technical public policy issues. The Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life provides a focal point for much of this research.
- International and Comparative Politics and Political Economy: Our contributions in this wide field bring new angles to familiar topics: global governance seen through the governance of the sea, the political effects of migration seen in emigrants’ home countries, varieties of capitalism as they are emerging in middle-income countries, class voting behaviour seen in the effects of precarious employment.
