RESEARCH PROFILE
- RAE score: This department was created in 2010 and therefore does not have a score for the 2008 RAE.
- Research income: £850,000.
- Current number of academic staff: 19.
- Research students: 19.
- Research centres and groups: Members of the core team work closely with other centres and research groups at King's, including the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Centre for Conflict Security and Development (CSDG), the Social Care Workforce Research Unit (SCWRU) and the King's Centre for Risk Management (KCRM).
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Students are expected to progress into academic employment or careers in the world of public policy in a governmental or NGO setting.
Head of group/division
Dr Adrian Blau
Duration
MPhil two years FT, three years PT, PhD three years FT, four to six years PT.
Location
Strand and Waterloo campuses.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Social Science and Public Policy
Department of Political Economy
Closing date
None. However, students interested in applying for funding should be aware that deadlines for this differ and may be earlier, therefore applicants should view the Graduate Funding Pages at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for more information.
No set number.
Fees
CONTACTS
Contact information
Professor Adrian Blau, Head of Department
Email
Website
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
The Department of Political Economy offers supervision for the MPhil/PhD research degrees covering most areas of public policy, drawing on academic expertise across and beyond the School of Social Science and Public Policy. Supervision may be provided from within the Department of Political Economy core team, or jointly with other staff of the School. The Department enjoys close links with a range of think tanks and public bodies where research collaborations may be possible.
Staff interests associated with the research programme and its research groups
Interests:
The main thread of Adam’s research concerns the relevance of Frank Knight’s distinction between risk and uncertainty for contemporary political economy. Knightian uncertainty has traditionally been deployed to understand entrepreneurship and firms. Adam’s work seeks to integrate it into more recent developments in the rational choice framework as applied to politics, law, economic development, comparative economic systems, etc. He is working out its applicability to each of these fields in article form before integrating it into a book.
Tel:
020 7848 7326
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Interests:
Dr Tebble’s research interests include contemporary liberal political theory, with a specialisation in classical liberalism, social justice, the politics of culture and identity, and the idea of public communication. He is the author of Hayek (Continuum Press, 2010) and is currently completing a book on the role of the state in culturally diverse societies for Routledge Press that is due for publication in 2013. Dr Tebble has published in the journals Economics and Philosophy (2001), Political Theory (2002, 2006), Political Studies (2003, 2011) and the Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (2009).
Tel:
02078481685
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Interests:
Democratic theory and practice, including deliberative democracy, deliberative policy-making, electoral systems and party systems; corruption, Hobbes, history of political thought, and research methods.
Tel:
02078481686
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Interests:
Alexandre is currently working on a number of research projects dealing with the welfare state agenda of national-populist parties, the politics of the Eurozone crisis in Southern Europe, and the political economy of labour migration policies. He just finished a book entitled “Social concertation in times of austerity” to be published by Amsterdam University Press in November 2012, which analyses when and why governments involve employers and trade unions in labour market policy reforms.
Tel:
020 7848 7322
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Dr. Ami J. Abou-bakr is a researcher focusing primarily on public-private partnerships for resilience and disaster management purposes. Having spent several years working in the US finance sector before returning to academia to obtain her MA and PhD, her research is directed toward informing policy decisions and influencing public and private sector decision makers. She also sustains an ongoing and active interest in matters of Middle East politics, particularly in regard to Egypt and the Arab Spring.
Tel:
02078487320
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Interests:
Europeanisation, comparative European politics and public policy.
Tel:
020 7848 2882
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Interests:
Biomedical politics; global bioeconomy; science policy; politics of bioethics; state strategies.
Tel:
020 7848 2300
Fax:
020 7848 1800
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Interests:
Christel’s research addresses questions related to the insulation of policy making from politics and the electoral process, both at the national and the European level. Her work has mainly focused on the democratic legitimacy and accountability of independent regulatory and executive agencies, and the relationship between these organisations and political, economic, and societal actors.
Tel:
020 7848 7324
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David is writing a book tentatively titled “Governance and Prison Gangs: The Hidden Order of the Criminal Underworld” that examines how inmates create and change self-governance institutions and the implications for crime and public policy.
Tel:
020 7848 1616
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Interests:
Emily’s current research examines how voluntary society operated in the aftermath of the Chicago Fire of 1871. Her research examines how organizational and jurisdictional arrangements impact the ability of agents to discover successful strategies and mitigate market failures. Using novel historical data and records, her work examines the consequences of polycentric disaster relief following one of the most devastating natural disasters of the nineteenth century. Emily’s work in the history of economic thought focuses on the treatment of voluntary society in relation to public goods problems, issues of charitable giving, and the production and dissemination of knowledge.
Tel:
020 7848 7339
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Humeira’s research is concerned with exploring the contours of social and political theory particularly in the South Asian context. She is interested in the shifting demarcations of state and market, society and economy, secularism and secularization. She has carried out ethnographic research with two Islamist parties in Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Her current research project takes a comparative approach to the dynamics of the Tablighi Jamaat in UK and in Pakistan.
Tel:
02078487381
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Interests:
Principal research interests lie in political philosophy (particularly liberalism, libertarianism and ethical accounts of the market) and political economy (particularly Austrian economics and public choice theory).
Tel:
020 7848 2894
Fax:
020 7848 4630
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Interests:
Ken young has researched and published for many years in the fields of local politics and urban government. His present work is in the politics of defence and is working on aspects of Anglo-American defence relations and foreign policy. He is currently writing two book for publication by Manchester University Press and Palgrave entitled 'Over here: US Strategic Nuclear Forces in Britain, 1948-1962' and 'Weapon Systems and the Politics of Interdependence' respectively. A series of recently published papers on related topics over the Royal Navy's Polaris lobby, the Skybolt crisis of 1962 and three papers on US bases in Britain and the Anglo-American nuclear strike planning.
Tel:
020 7848 2708
Fax:
020 7848 1800
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Interests:
Mark's research interests lie at the intersection of politics, philosophy and economics with an emphasis on the implications of bounded rationality and imperfect knowledge for institutional design. He has a particular interest in the works of Hayek, public choice theory and related elements of the classical liberal tradition. His earlier work focussed on the political economy of environmental planning and regulation and explored the potential for property rights approaches to environmental problems. His more recent work has explored the implications of bounded rationality in the context of contemporary theories of deliberative democracy.
Tel:
02078481687
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Interests:
Vocational education & training; performance-related pay; economics of public policy; the Austrian school of economics; the history of economic thought; social ontology; the methodology of economics.
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7848 3970
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Interests:
- US foreign and security policy
- Canadian foreign and security policyEnergy security
- Arctic governance
- Identity and foreign policy
I am currently involved in the supervision of PhD students working on energy security and Canadian foreign policy.
I am interested in supervising any research which looks at Canadian foreign policy, US foreign energy policy, Arctic governance and energy security more generally.
Tel:
020 7848 2529
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Interests:
Robin’s expertise is in the history of modern political thought and he is especially interested in examining how interpretations of historical thinkers continue to influence and structure important normative debates in contemporary political philosophy. Robin is currently working on a number of research papers and projects that address the following themes:
The political thought of Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.The origins of liberal political thought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.The republican critique of liberalism in contemporary political theory.How presuppositions about human nature inform the way we think about the scope and purpose of politics and political economy.Thomas Hobbes’s influence on key debates in contemporary political philosophy.
Tel:
02078481688
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Interests:
civic participation and democratic theory, the voluntary sector and public services, local government reform, and issues related to race and racism in public policy.
Tel:
0207848 7350
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Interests:
Dr James’ research concerns the development and adaptation of democratic governance and public policy to contemporary socio-economic and geopolitical challenges. In particular he is interested in the impact of European integration on the politics, policy, and polity of the member states: how the demands and pressures of EU membership give rise to political, policy, and institutional change at the domestic level, and how national governments respond by attempting to upload their policy preferences into the EU policy process. His research interests are therefore broad and include EU politics and policy, theories of European integration, Economic and Monetary Union, British and Irish European policy, and political and economic governance.
His doctoral research explored the concept of Europeanisation as ‘projection’ – how national governments adapt strategically in order to enhance the projection of national policy preferences. Employing innovative conceptual and analytical frameworks, the study sought to analyse and explain the strategic adaptation of the national EU policy making process within the UK and Irish core executives under the Blair and Ahern governments. In the future he hopes to undertake related research into how EU membership shapes patterns of governance at both the national and supranational levels – in particular, examining the extent to which the increasing prominence of the European Council gives rise to an intensive form of transgovernmentalism that empowers heads of government/state within the member states.
Dr James has presented papers at several international conferences in both the UK and US, including the Political Studies Association annual conference (in 2006 and 2008), the University Association of Contemporary European Studies annual conference (in 2007), and the British Politics Group conference on ‘Britain after Blair’ (as part of the American Political Science Association annual conference in Chicago in 2007).
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7848 7384
Fax:
020 7848 2450
Email:
Website:
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Master's degree in a subject appropriate to the research area with a minimum high merit (or overseas equivalent).
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Applications are made to the Head of the Department and are reviewed by two members of the teaching team, in conjunction, where appropriate, with a subject specialist from among the departments of the School. All candidates are invited for interview and are expected to submit substantial written material in support of their application.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
No information required.
FUNDING
Self or employer funded.
Related programme student profile
Public Policy MAKing's presented a natural choice for my PhD studies. After completing an MSc in International Management at the university, I had come to know the academic staff in the Department of Management quite well. They are highly regarded and knowledgeable in their fields, but also approachable and supportive. This gave me the confidence that they would be able to provide me with excellent guidance and supervision for my PhD research. Indeed, my supervisors have always gone the extra mile when I needed quick support or hit an unexpected bump in the road.
Receiving a studentship, co-sponsored by the ESRC and the Graduate School, allows me to commit fully to the research and not have my focus diverted. At King's, I have found myself a friendly, yet engaging support network that makes me feel at home in the greater academic community. With all the support I receive at King's, I am confident that my PhD research will be a successful first step in my academic career.
I would encourage anyone considering King's for their graduate research to come onto campus, meet the staff, chat with us students and get a feel for the support available.