Comparative Politics
We are a leading centre for the study of comparative politics, with interests ranging from policy-making and institutions to political movements and ideologies.
We are pluralistic in our methods and modes of enquiry and sharpen these through open and critical debate. Core concerns across the cluster include questions of democracy, power, nationalism, the state, and the inequalities of gender and ethnicity.
Highlights
- Paul Tobin’s ESRC New Investigator Award “Polycentric pioneers? Explaining variations in governance models and their impacts on local climate change policy” (Jan.2020-Dec. 2022) involves multi-level analysis of climate policy in Germany, Sweden and the UK.
- Dave Richards’ Nuffield-funded project “Public Expenditure Planning and Control in Complex Times: A Study of Whitehall Departments Relationship to the Treasury (1993-present)” (Jan. 2020-Dec.2022) examines public expenditure coordination, control and delivery between HM Treasury, Whitehall departments and their delivery agents and the challenges to achieving effective financial control of public expenditure.
- Ola Onuch’s ORA-funded project “Determinants of ‘Mobilisation’ at Home and Abroad: Analysing the Micro-Foundations of Out-Migration and Mass Protest (MOBILISE)” (Jan. 2019-Dec. 2021) works with teams from the UK, Germany, France and Netherlands to ask the question: When there is discontent why do some people protest while others cross borders?
- Liz Richardson’s ESRC-funded work on co-production Jam and Justice (2016-19) created space for social innovation to co-produce, test and learn from new ways of governing cities, and understand how different groups could work together to achieve fairer and more inclusive outcomes.
- Cluster members contribute to the wider discipline through taking active roles in bodies like the PSA, ECPR, Policy@Manchester and the Manchester JMCE and organising prestigious events like the JMCE Annual lecture.
People
Academic staff
- Professor Francesca Gains Research specialisms: public policy, policy agendas, gender and politics, British politics, devolution and local government.
- Dr Felipe Gonzalez Santos Research Associate: Determinants of “Mobilisation” at Home and Abroad. Research specialisms: Social movements, protest, mixed methods research
- Professor Yoram Gorlizki Research specialisms: Russian, Soviet and Eurasian politics, theories of dictatorship.
- Professor Peter Gries Research specialisms: Chinese politics and foreign policy, American foreign policy, US-China relations, the political psychology of international affairs, nationalism.
- Dr Nicole Martin Research specialisms: Elections and comparative politics, immigration, race and ethnicity, public opinion, candidates and representation.
- Professor Kevin Morgan Research specialisms: Political ideas and ideologies, 20th-century British politics, European communism, labour movements and the radical left, political biography, interviewing and life-histories.
- Dr Timothy J Oliver Research specialisms: British politics, international relations, British foreign policy, British political history, qualitative research methods.
- Dr Olga Onuch Research specialisms: Comparative politics of protest, elections, migration and identity, Eastern Europe and Latin America (Ukraine, Poland, Argentina, Brazil), surveys and language-based ethnographic fieldwork.
- Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou Research specialisms: EU politics and public policy, EU enlargement, EU external relations, varieties of capitalism, Greek politics.
- Professor Dave Richards Research specialisms: Public policy, governance, globalisation, state theory, political biography.
- Professor Liz Richardson Research specialisms: Participatory research methods, public policy and co-production, urban governance, social justice and accountability, civic participation.
- Dr Rosalind Shorrocks Research specialisms: Gender and politics, voting behaviour, public opinion, quantitative methods.
- Dr Dan Silver Research specialisms: Urban experimentation and social transformation, social change at a municipal level, transitions to post-capitalist futures, critical participatory action research, politics of knowledge production.
- Dr David Stroup Research specialisms: Chinese Politics, China’s ethnic politics, Islam in China, nationalism and ethnic politics, everyday nationalism, the politics of authoritarian states, state-society relations.
- Dr Louise Thompson Research specialisms: UK parliament, legislation, representation, political parties, political engagement/participation.
- Dr Paul Tobin Research specialisms: European politics, environmental politics, public policy, multi-level governance, comparative methods.
- Dr Nick Turnbull Research specialisms: Public policy, governance, slavery and trafficking policy, political rhetoric, political questioning.
- Dr Samuel Warner Research Associate, Public Expenditure Planning and Control in Complex Times. Research specialisms: British politics, (de/re)politicisation, governance, state theory, archival analysis.
- Professor Georgina Waylen Research specialisms: Gender and politics, comparative politics, feminist institutionalism, international political economy.
- Professor Angelia Wilson Research specialisms: American politics, religion and politics, gender and sexuality studies.
Postgraduate Researchers
- Puren Aktas: puren.aktas@postgrad.mancheter.ac.uk: ‘The diverse responses of physicians to the use of diagnosis-related groups in two publicly funded health care systems: a comparative study of England and Turkey’. Supervisors: Liz Richardson, Jonathan Hammond
- Connell Beggs connell.beggs@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk; Soft Power, Hard Times: Russian Influence in the Post-Soviet Space during Periods of Military Conflict’. Supervisors: Yoram Gorlizki, Vera Tolz.
- Francisco Espinoza: Francisco.espinoza@manchester.ac.uk: ‘Social classes under neoliberalism in Latin America: a comparative analysis of political behaviour’. Supervisors: Jon Mellon, Olga Onuch, Maria Sobolewska
- Konstantinos Kanellopoulous konstantinos.kanellopoulos@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk: ‘A Tale of ‘Two Depressions’: Greece's Inter-War ‘Great Depression’ vs. the Modern 'Greek Odyssey' – Drawing Lessons from History Through the lens of Political Economy’. Supervisors: Dimitris Padadamitriou, Stuart Shields
- Anthony Noun: Anthony.noun@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk: ‘Building resilience of the political leadership to embrace and adopt a more citizen-centred local public services.’ Supervisors: Liz Richardson, Nick Turnbull.
- Kenneth Rushworth: kenneth.rushworth@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk; ‘Electoral Registration in Britain: Inequality, Reform and the Prospects for Automatic Registration.’ Supervisors Maria Sobolewska, Nicole Martin, Jonathan Mellon.
- Louise Wylie: Louise.Wylie@manchester.ac.uk: ‘Did Scots vote differently to the rest of the UK in the BREXIT referendum because they feel European?’ Supervisors Dimitris Papadimitriou, Paul Tobin
- Cressida Arkwright: cressida.arkwright@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk ‘Youth engagement in young democracies: Assessing the patterns, processes and impact of youth engagement in Ukraine.’ Supervisors: Olga Onuch, Marta Cantijoch Cunill
- Andrew Barclay: andrew.barclay@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk: ‘Seamless integration or parallel politics? The political participation of Jews in Britain’’. Supervisors: Maria Sobolewska, Rob Ford.
- Sofia Doyle sofia.doyle@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk: ‘Staff-Student Sexual Violence in the Academy: Everyday Insecurity, Everyday Resistance.’ Supervisors: Laura McLeod, Cristina Masters
- Elisa Mendes Vasconcelos elisa.vasconcelos@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk: ‘Gender Inequality in the High-Rank Federal Bureaucratic Posts in Brazil.’ Supervisors: Georgina Waylen, Rosalind Shorrocks.
- Beatriz Buarque beatriz.buarque@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk: ‘Antisemitic conspiracy theories in Brasil, Argentina and the UK; A comparative study of social media hate speech.’ Supervisors: Martin Coward, Andreja Zevnik
- Ana Martinez Fernandez ana.martinezfernandez@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk. Backlashes and Resistances to Reproductive Rights in Latin America: A comparative analysis of Argentina and El Salvador.’ Supervisors: Georgina Waylen, Olga Onuch
- James Griffiths: james.griffiths@manchester.ac.uk. ‘The nature of nationalist sentiment within multi-nation states.’ Supervisors: Marta Cantijoch Cunill, Ed Fieldhouse and David Stroup
- Alexander Hartland alexander.hartland@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk. ‘Activism, Policy Representation and Asylum: How can activism influence immigration policy?’ Supervisors: Rob Ford, Nicole Martin
Associates and Alumni
PhD's in Comparative Politics completed since 2018 include:
- Temidayo Eseonu, ‘A new-institutionalist exploration of the ‘voice-of-colour’ in public services delivery.’
- Chris Butler, ‘How do parties in office respond to electoral incentives? A study into the positioning, issue prioritisation and perceptions of decision-makers in the UK.'
- Anna Sanders, ‘The impact of gendered policies on women's voting behaviour: An analysis of the 2015 UK General Election.’
- Jolanta Shields, 'Community Interest Companies in the NHS: A Trojan Horse for Marketisation?’
- Daniel Silver, ‘Repurposing policy evaluation to learn about social transformation.’
- Lucky Benson, ‘An Examination of E-government in the Delivery of Public Services in Nigeria: A Policy Transfer Approach.’
- Ana Sanchez Santana, ‘Understanding contemporary networked governance and regulatory capacity in Mexico: A study of oversight bodies in the process of regulation.’
- Matthew Crow, ‘Social Enterprise in the British Political Tradition.’
- Anthony Chambers, ‘Do Immigrant Origin MPs represent Immigrant Origin Voters?’
- Fadil Ersozer, ‘The EU’s Green Line Regulation in Cyprus.’
- Mustafa Cirakli, ‘Identity and Citizenship amongst Northern Cypriot Settlers.’