European Politics Research Unit (EPRU)
EPRU (the European Politics Research Unit) was established in Politics at the University of Manchester in 1989. Since then it has achieved an international reputation as a centre for research, one where the results of research can be discussed between academic specialists and the wider community.
EPRU is located within one of the largest Discipline Areas of Political Science in the United Kingdom, and its members are largely drawn from there. At Manchester there exists a unique concentration of specialisms. We have experts in the politics of almost all the major states (such as France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia) and key regions of Europe (such as Central Europe, Southern Europe and the Balkans). But our expertise goes beyond individual countries. Key areas of our expertise are the policies and institutions of the European Union, particularly issues relating to EU enlargement, the Lisbon agenda, devolution and the theme of Europeanisation. Other members of EPRU specialise in the comparative analysis of particular policy problems and issues such as media and financial regulation, multi-level governance, nationalism and labour market policy.
The chief aim of EPRU is to encourage research on the comparative study of Europe and the European Union, and to link the results of that research to the immediate concerns of practitioners. Our University is a major institution in the north west of the United Kingdom, and exploring how Europe affects the region is an important part of our mission.
EPRU organises frequent seminars/conferences/events on Europe and the European Union, mainly through the regular seminar series of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for European Studies at Manchester (in which EPRU members play an active role) and the Politics Seminar. EPRU also organises a reading group on Europeanisation in which members of staff and doctoral students exchange ideas and elaborate on their current research activities. EPRU also services the European Politics and Policy Pathway (Standard Route and Research Route) in the MA programme in Political Science offered by Politics.
Members of European Politics Research Unit
- Dr Claire Annesley
- Dr. Ian Bruff
- Professor Yoram Gorlizki
- Dr Emmanuel-Pierre Guittet
- Professor Peter Humphreys
- Dr Jill Lovecy
- Dr Huw Macartney
- Dr Dimitris Papadimitriou
- Dr Angelos Sepos
- Dr Stuart Shields
Associate members
The membership itself serves as an executive committee, meeting periodically to review progress and to plan new enterprises. EPRU is simply and democratically organised. One member of the Unit serves as Director, co-ordinating its activities, liaising between the Unit and other institutions, and developing new initiatives inside the Unit.
The present Director is Dr. Dimitris Papadimitriou. The implementation of the Unit's activities is done in a decentralised way: everything that happens does so as the result of the enthusiasm and energy of individual members, who take responsibility for particular activities. The Unit is a non-profit making organisation devoted to serving communities of scholars and practitioners, in both the public and private sectors.
Gathered inside EPRU is a unique concentration of scholarly expertise. But the Unit's strengths also spring from its location in the University and in the City of Manchester.
The University of Manchester is one of the United Kingdom's largest unitary institutions of higher learning. The John Rylands University Library, one of the biggest in the United Kingdom, is also a European Documentation Centre. Across the University virtually every aspect of the economy, culture and history of Europe are taught and researched in specialist departments. The Manchester Business School, one of the country's premier institutions, is deeply involved with European management education and research. The University's International Office promotes extensive participation in European Union projects for student mobility and collaborative research. Within EPRU we benefit from all these parts of the University, and in turn we contribute to them, by our teaching, collaborative research and informal contacts with colleagues.
We offer above all the results of our scholarly work, freely available not only to other scholars but to practitioners in the community. But we also offer a location where research and argument can take place. Some is formally organised in the extensive programme of graduate training and research organised by Politics. More informally, we offer hospitality to visiting scholars.
A stream of researchers now visits Manchester, sometimes briefly to give a lecture, sometimes at greater length to conduct research in the stimulating environment provided by the Unit and the University. The Unit also acts as a location where practitioners can meet and exchange views with scholars. Out of our formal programmes of seminars and conferences has grown a network of informal contacts between the Unit and the regional community.