Showcasing student research

Another year has passed and our third year students have completed their research – the dissertation! Again, a phenomenal range of topics and questions attests to Politics students’ interests.

In a general election year, British politics and in particular party politics were a hot topic:

  • Labour Power in the New Labour Party. An assessment of the power relationships between New Labour and the trade unions between 1992 and the Warwick Agreement
  • The rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party: how and why?
  • From Barmy Brussels Bureaucrats to Westminster Withdrawal. An exploration of the phenomenon of Euroscepticism within European integration; an analysis of right wing parties in Britain
  • A study of the British Labour party and its affiliation with its trade unions
  • To what extent is British foreign policy post 9-11 considered as an explanatory factor in explaining the radicalisation of muslims

Another major power, the United States, continued to fascinate and critical analysis of its divisions, contradictions and often questioned policies were at the centre of several dissertations:

  • New York City, Homes, Jobs and Segregation. To what extent are the inner city districts of New York characterised by residential and occupational segregation according to race?
  • Persuading the Nation. An analysis of the political influence held by the American news media in the 21st century and how this affects the country’s democratic state
  • Politicised Bodies and the Body Politic. Assessing the role of government in the construction of the ideal American citizen through the lens of bodily sociology
  • Analysing the politics of gun control in the United States of America. What are the social and political factors that divide American society with regards to the gun debate?
  • Friendly Fire. How the use of fear by the Bush administration in the ‘war on terror’ backfired on the US government

International war, conflict and cooperation was explored by a number of students in a year that continued to be dominated by conflicts in Syria and the Ukraine:

  • What causes the phenomenon of genocide? An explanatory analysis of what the key causes of acts of genocide are, critically evaluating the existing literature to form a coherent all encompassing framework
  • The Responsibility to Protect or Possess. Human rights are legitimately used to justify international intervention into the domestic affairs of sovereign states
  • Disarmament, Demobilisation & Reintegration: good intentions and flawed implementation. An analysis of DDR in selected African countries with special reference to the provision for women
  • An assessment of the levels of influence of Nonstate Actors and State Actors on the International Whaling Commission

Others explored the policies of states in the EU and around the world….

  • French Secularism. An assessment of the religious freedoms afforded to ethnic minorities in France
  • The Restoration of the Jewish State. Is Israel a Jewish state or a state of Jews?
  • The influence of ideology on Cuban international relations in an era of globalisation
  • Poland’s Power and Influence in the European Union. An assessment of the extent to which Poland, an new member state in the EU, has been successful in securing its highest priorities

…while broader, conceptual issues were also considered:

  • Propaganda, a weapon or a language. A critical assessment on how to identify, understand and analyse propaganda
  • Defining feminism for the future. An investigation into the common misconceptions and changing uses of the word ‘feminism’
  • The role of sports and mega-sporting events as a tool of public diplomacy. An assessment of the way in which public diplomacy interacts with sport and mega sporting events