School of Politics and International Studies - Research and Expertise

School celebrates success at REF 2021

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Our research

We have set out a ten year plan to investigate and understand the politics of global challenges.

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Research centres

Our centres of excellence facilitate global collaborations, interdisciplinarity and impact.

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Interdisciplinarity

World-leading interdisciplinary activity forms a cornerstone of our identity and is integral to our research mission.

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The Politics of Global Challenges

Our intellectual focus is on the politics of global challenges: the inherently political processes through which global challenges are created, understood, and mediated by the exercise and contestation of power in its various forms. It is through this lens that the School of Politics and International Studies and our six Research Centres pursue our respective research agendas. We promote rigorous social scientific inquiry at the heart of interdisciplinary engagements, coordinating closely with societal stakeholders at every stage of the research cycle. Our research environment thus acts as a hub to coordinate activities across the School, University and beyond.

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Our research activity in our core areas of expertise is driven by six interconnected centres of excellence.

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We collaborate with a wide range of partners to produce outstanding, policy-relevant research.

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Our research contributes significantly to both the sustainability and enhancement of the wider discipline through our intellectual leadership.

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We have embedded interdisciplinarity in our everyday practice by establishing our research centres as hubs that develop new interdisciplinary networks beyond the social sciences.

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We are committed to retaining and growing a diverse and inclusive research community which integrates academic staff, post-doctoral researchers, and doctoral researchers.

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The school brings together academics from across political, international relations, and development disciplines. Our expertise covers all the main regions of the world.

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Find out more about research projects past and present within the School of Politics and International Studies.

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Join our postgraduate research community and pursue your passion with the support of our expert academics.

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News and events

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Infographic showing the current socio-economic divide in politics.

A leading academic from the School of Politics and International Studies is…

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Richard Beardsworth portrait

On the eve of COP28, Professor Richard Beardsworth shares his expectations…

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The Centre for Global Security Challenges is delighted to announce the launch…

More on POLIS launches new MA Programme in Global Security Challenges