The School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University Belfast invites applications for a fully funded Ph.D. position in Political Science and Public Policy on a project on the origins and effects of transparency in politics. The project will be conducted under the supervision of Dr Michele Crepaz as part of an Illuminate Fellowship project team.
The research team led by Dr Michele Crepaz studies the politics of transparency in contemporary democracies. The project includes mapping and categorising contemporary democracies based on the transparency of their political system. It also investigates the origins and effects of transparency reforms on quality of democracy, corruption and political trust.
Overview
Transparency is considered as the foundation for accountability in modern democracies and governments and international organisations worldwide take strides in developing regulations to ensure transparency in governance. Yet, political resistance to reform, challenges to implementation and unintended negative effects of transparency currently limit the potential benefits introduced by legislation. More scholarly work is needed to understand origins and effects of transparency reform. The project focuses on a set of transparency policies (not limited to):
- Freedom of information acts
- Open data
- Whistleblowing legislation
- Conflict of interest legislation
- Lobbying regulation
- Campaign finance regulation
- Corporate social responsibility reporting
The project is based on an interdisciplinary approach (in particular, intersections between the social sciences, law, business & management are particularly welcome). Applicants should demonstrate how their specialisation will contribute to the theme of the project.
How to apply:
Potential candidates are now invited to submit a CV and 2-page research proposal in which they clearly demonstrate how their research will contribute to the aims of the project. Proposals can address various contexts and cases but a comparative element is an advantage. The methodology should be clearly articulated.
The Ph.D. student will develop a research project linked to Dr Michele Crepaz’s research agenda and will have room to carry out independent research plans. The collaboration between PhD student and the PI has a strong potential to inform policy-making in both national and international government institutions.
Working from Belfast, the Ph.D. student is expected to contribute to collaborative research activities and joint publications, as well as be actively involved in dissemination and outreach activities. Participation in the project requires international travel.
About Dr Michele Crepaz (the PI of the project)
He is a Vice Chancellor Illuminate Fellow in Political Science at Queen's University Belfast. His research focuses on the study of interest groups, lobbying and the politics of transparency in Europe and the EU. He is an affiliated scholar at Brussels-based NGO The Good Lobby (https://www.thegoodlobby.eu/). To know more about his work, consult his personal page (https://sites.google.com/view/michelecrepazcom/home) and publications (https://sites.google.com/view/michelecrepazcom/home/publications).
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