Research units

The Centre for European Politics| produces research in two principal areas: the study of democracy in Europe, and Europe as an actor in world politics. It has hosted a number of high-profile speakers and organised numerous research events. The CEP establishes collaborative links with academics, research institutes, and NGOs both in the UK and abroad.The CEP has particular strengths in:

• comparative European politics
• the theory and workings of the European Union
• Europe’s global role
• and European political theory and philosophy.

The MSc streams in European Politics and Democracy, Politics and Governance are ideal preparation for doctoral research in the Centre for European Politics.

The Centre for Global and Transnational Politics| also has its home at Royal Holloway. The centre focuses on two broad research areas. 

 The first broad area of interest is in regional, transnational, and comparative politics, including:

• the politics of the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, the EU, and other regions
• transnational governance
• global development
• borders in global politics
• power and identity
• comparative and international public policy
• national, regional and international security
• cosmopolitanism
• global media and politics
• and environmental politics.

The second area of interest covers international law, conflict, and security, including:

• international law and institutions
• the political theory of global social justice
• immigration and citizenship
• new security challenges
• human rights
• global legal and institutional networks
• and military operations and international law.

The MSc streams in Global Politics, International Relations, and International Relations Theory, are ideal preparation for Doctoral research in the Centre for Global and Transnational Politics. 

The New Political Communication Unit|’s research agenda focuses on the impact of new media and communication technologies on politics, policy and governance. The Unit has three distinct but related research foci. Firstly, the unit researches comparative and international political communication, encompassing:

• the Internet's impact on political mobilization, campaigning and identity
• the relationship between media, war, new security challenges and conflict
• audience reception studies in the context of the proliferation of media
• the dynamic between citizens’ changing uses of media and a transforming news environment
• citizen journalism
• technology and mobilities.

Our second research focus is Communication and comparative governance, encompassing:

• e-government, e-democracy and the changing interface between representative institutions, public bureaucracies and citizens
• changing organizational practices shaped by new patterns of communication.

Lastly, the centre is concerned with comparative and international communication policy, including:

• Internet and new media governance and regulation
• privacy, surveillance and security, the political economy of new media
• cultural diversity policy
• digital divide and development issues.

The MSc stream in New Political Communication is ideal preparation for Doctoral study in the New Political Communication Unit.

The Contemporary Political Theory Research Group| was founded in October 2009, the development of political theory at postgraduate level and growth in academic staff numbers having created the critical mass it required. The group organizes its activities collectively, and its work focuses on issues around contemporary pluralism, liberalism, democratic theory and radical politics.

It brings together staff working in contemporary Continental philosophy, normative political theory, and American pragmatism, and its postgraduate members include two students on the College’s most prestigious studentship, the Reid Award. The group also has ties to the College’s Philosophy Team and the interdepartmental Humanities and Arts Research Centre|. The main PIR academics involved in the group are Dr Nathan Widder|, Dr Jonathan Seglow|, and Dr Michael Bacon|.