PhD Research

Overview: My PhD research focuses on paradiplomacy, or the external relations of sub-state governments. I am conducting a comparative study of Wales, Scotland and Bavaria, and looking to understand the motivations that their respective governments have in developing (autonomous) international agency. Specifically, I am focussing on those international activities that cannot be easily explained with reference to functional requirements (such as those typically considered by Multi Level Governance). I am particularly interested in the effect that government formation and degrees of regional or national identity have on the ways that the international domain is utilised by sub-state governments. Beyond this, my research considers the implications that this development may have: for the conduct and theory of international relations, for the concept of sovereignty, and in terms of relations between sub-state and central governments.

Research Interests

Diplomacy; international relations; devolution; regionalism and regional identity; inter-governmental relations; European politics