UCL Political Science

Policy & Practice Seminar: The US Midterms 📆 29 October 2026, 18:15–19:30 📍 UCL, Bloomsbury Campus Free to attend and open to all - especially the curious! 🎟️ Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/policy-practice-seminar-the-us-midterms-tickets-1999089571723

📢 Our Policy & Practice seminars are back for Term 1! Join us to explore the issues shaping policy and society. Speakers from government, academia, media, industry, policy and the third sector. 📍 UCL Bloomsbury 🗓️ Thursday evenings, 18:15–19:30 🎟️ https://bit.ly/3VWv75g

🤔 Do policy-makers understand what the public think? 🤔 Or are key foreign policy decisions shaped by misperceptions of public preferences? We welcome Dr Jonathan Monten to the UCL Uncovering Politics podcast. Listen: https://uncoveringpolitics.com/

What is at stake in the upcoming midterms? What could the outcomes mean for the future of American democracy? Katie Pruszynski (Independent Political Analyst), Laurel Rapp (Chatham House), Andy Rudalevige (Bowdoin College), and chair Thomas Gift (UCL) will discuss. Register https://bit.ly/4hZWG6G

Among the victims of crime it was found that higher rates of state killing were associated with increased popularity of the president, where less harsh forms of punishment make the president less popular. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/239363bz #LatinAmerica #governance #democracy

What would it take to bring peace to the Middle East? We will welcome to the Policy & Practice Seminar Maryam Alemzadeh (Oxford), Sa’ed Atshan (Swarthmore), Alison Killing (Financial Times) and chair Anne Irfan (UCL) to discuss this question. Register here: https://bit.ly/4y0c5bS

🥛 Dr Johanna Zetterstrom-Sharp (UCL Institute of Archaeology) and Dr JC Niala @jcniala.bsky.social (University of Oxford’s History of Science Museum), are in the new BBC Ideas film: ‘Five surprising things you probably didn’t know about milk’. Check it out 👇 #Milk #BBCIdeas #Archaeology

"Of the UCL students that we've taken on board, they are very passionate and they have an excellent work ethic, which we love and is a really, really positive impact on our company." Find out more about the scheme and how to get involved: tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6 #Internships #politics #Dods #data

We are happy to announce the first evening in our Policy & Practice seminar series this autumn. We look forward to welcoming Anand Menon (KCL), Alexandra Hall Hall (former British diplomat), Jill Rutter (IfG), Uta Staiger (UCL) and chair Michal Ovádek (UCL). Register here: https://bit.ly/4wJmp6Z

To what extend can news media impact electoral behaviour? In her dissertation, Abigail Lindon (BSc Philosophy, Politics and Economics) argues that such impact is conditional within the context of a more diverse media landscape. Read her article on the Student Experts Blog: https://bit.ly/4zE0cKb

Many congratulations to @llschenoni.bsky.social! Luis' book ‘Bringing War Back In. Victory, Defeat, and the State in Nineteenth-Century Latin America’, has received the J. David Greenstone Award from the American Political Science Association. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/y42frvvu #apsa

Open justice is understood as the principle that courts should be accessible to all - but what does it mean in practice? Carolina Beresford (MA Human Rights) explored the lived experience of open justice in London’s magistrates’ courts. Read her findings on the SEBS: https://bit.ly/4ht6vK5

Marco passed his viva with his dissertation "Dimensions of Discontent: Essays on Economic Insecurity and Far-Right Support in Post-Financial Crisis Europe”. We asked Marco some questions about his thesis, what he enjoyed and what the challenges were. Read his answers here: https://bit.ly/4x2wUn5

How does Narendra Modi use environmental rhetoric to legitimise the BJP's nationalist Hindutva ideology? Devi Sankhla (BSc Philosophy, Politics and Economics) analysed his political speeches and found that his rhetoric follows the populist narrative template of time: https://bit.ly/4wuUQyt

SPP-Alumna Sosan Hashimi is a Face of UCL as part of the university's bicentenary! Read this short portray, where she shares her journey from being a lawyer in Kabul to becoming the founder of the charity Beyond Borders Empowerment in London. https://bit.ly/3TEhNBn

How do media in authoritarian countries portray refugees? Anouska Panda (BSc Politics and Intern Relations) analysed state-aligned media outlets in Belarus and Turkey and found that they use refugee discourse to talk about state identity, legitimacy and geopolitical status. https://bit.ly/4fGiUcu

What are the internal and external factors that contributed to the fall of Afghanistan in 2021? Sosan Hashimi (MSc Intern. Public Policy) spoke with former Afghan government officials, UN representatives, US foreign policy experts, and others to find out. https://bit.ly/4ywKxfv

Not one, not two, but three Senior Promotions💜 Congratulations to Julia Du Pont De Romémont (@uclspp.bsky.social), Caroline Parker (UCL Anthropology), and Igor Tkalec (@uclgeography.bsky.social) on their promotions. Full list: tinyurl.com/35tj2ah8 #Promotions #UCL #SocialData #Celebrate

Next in our Student Experts Blog Series: Tess Delepierre challenges two assumptions that Western social theory has long applied to Muslim women: that education weakens religious faith, and that feminist consciousness requires secular foundations. Read Tess' article here: https://bit.ly/4w1rAQc

We are happy to launch the next round of our Student Experts Blog Series with an article by recent graduate Samuel Pryor: 'A Blessing or a Curse? Chinese Development Finance and Protest Activity in Africa' Read it here: bit.ly/4w6xXld

Fantastic to see Daniel Jones' data visualisation in this @financialtimes.com article! This is a great example of how our internship programme enables students to make tangible contributions while gaining valuable hands-on experience at their host organisations. Find out more: tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6

What does this turbulent period in British politics reveal about the fragility of our democracy? On this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, we speak to Professor Meg Russell, who recently stepped down from leading the @conunitucl.bsky.social. #PrimeMinister #Brexit #Constitution #Politics

REFERENDUM+10: The Brexit referendum was a one-time event. It's tempting to think that a return referendum will easily reverse the damage it caused. But, as per @albertpweale.bsky.social of @uclspp.bsky.social, nothing could be further from the truth. ucleuropeblog.com/2026/06/23/r...

On this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, we speak to Kit Rickard, Giovanni Hollenweger, and @kristinmbakke.bsky.social about the tradition of parading in Northern Ireland and its effects on relations between its historically divided communities. 👇 #NorthernIreland #Podcasts #Politics

A great way to conclude my Visiting Research Fellowship @uclspp.bsky.social : presenting my research - funded by the @dfg.de - at the "London Public Policy Day" with colleagues from @ucl.ac.uk, LSE & @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social Many thanks for the invitation & the valuable feedback! @lmu.de

On this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, we speak to Dr Julia De Romémont about a new module on UCL's Master's programmes that teaches students to think rigorously about what conclusions can and cannot be drawn from research. @ucl.ac.uk #Policy #Evidence #HigherEducation #Podcasts #UCL

Some posts promote violence, misinformation, or self-harm. Is removal always the right response? Tune in to this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, where we hear from Jeffrey Howard, Professor of Political Philosophy and Public Policy: buff.ly/SjAsdx3 #SocialMedia #FreeSpeech #Moderation

How Do Judges' Personal Views Affect Asylum Rulings? Tune in to this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, where we hear from @benlauderdale.bsky.social, Professor of Political Science, and Judith Spirig, Associate Professor of Political Science at UCL. 🔗 Full episode: tinyurl.com/w8ueumbp

Why are some authoritarian governments willing to let their citizens know when things go wrong? Tune in to this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, where we hear from Dr Handi Li, Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the UCL Department of Political Science. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2xmajeej #China

What are the implications for governments trying to advance climate policy? Tune into this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, where we hear from Jared Finnegan, Lecturer in Public Policy in the UCL Department of Political Science. Full episode: tinyurl.com/4kvct36h @ucl.ac.uk #Climate

This week⏰ 🔗https://tinyurl.com/soda10y Join us to celebrate of 10 years of connecting organisations with world-class talent and find out more about how our internship programme can help you! Booking is essential: tinyurl.com/soda10y #Interns #events #UCL @ucl.ac.uk

Wishing all who are celebrating a peaceful and auspicious Vesak.

In this episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, we explore what it means to treat people with dementia as social equals, with Dr Matilda Carter (@matildacarter.bsky.social), Lecturer in Applied Ethics, and consider the implications for social justice in dementia care. 🔗Listen now: tinyurl.com/249tvacz

⌛There's still time to book your spot on our Quantitative Text Analysis short course! As advances in artificial intelligence continue to accelerate, the ability to analyse text at scale has become a powerful skill across disciplines. Find out more and book your spot: tinyurl.com/bdcrbrea #AI #CV

Join us! 🌐Lecture: Corruption, Economic Cycles, and Political Accountability in Latin America Carlos Scartascini is Leader of the Research Department Behavioral Economics Group and Principal Leader at the Inter-American Development Bank 📅 06 May | 14:00 - 16.00 | Room 103, 51 Gordon Square

This is a fantastic opportunity for potential partners to find out more about more about @uclsocialdata.bsky.social's internship programme 👇 🔗 tinyurl.com/stcsdi #Internships #Events #UCL #UCL200 @ucl.ac.uk

Tonight - roundtable @uclssees.bsky.social analysing the results & potential impacts of last week's Hungarian elections, drawing on a range of academic and policy expertise. In person and virtual. Chaired by @sherrillstroschein.bsky.social of @uclspp.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

On 5 May, our Deputy Director, @alanrenwick.bsky.social, will be giving the annual Bingham Lecture in Constitutional Studies. He will discuss the 'Westminster vision' and 'Whitehall vision' of the UK constitution. Find out more about this in-person event 👉 www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/events/2026/....

Celebrating 10 years of connecting organisations like Dods Political Intelligence with world-class talent 🎉 Discover how hosting an intern from the UCL Social Data Institute can strengthen your team when it counts at our event: tinyurl.com/stcsdi @ucl.ac.uk #UCL200 #Internships #Partnerships

How has Germany's Job-Turbo programme impacted employment among refugees? Co-authored by Jens Hainmueller; @moritz-marbach.com; Dominik Hangartner; @niklas-harder.bsky.social; and Ehsan Vallizadeh, read the full paper to find out: tinyurl.com/rlmark #Refugees #Policy @ucl.ac.uk

For a decade, our Internship Programme has partnered with organisations across sectors to deliver real-world impact. Join us to celebrate this milestone and discover how you can collaborate with top-tier talent from one of the world’s leading universities. 🔗 Book your spot: tinyurl.com/soda10y

Have a Happy Passover!

📣We are hiring The Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy at UCL is seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Public Policy and invites applicants with teaching and research expertise in any area of public policy. Find out more: tinyurl.com/uclppjd #Jobs #Policy @ucl.ac.uk

🎙️UCL Uncovering Politics 🎙️ S17 E10: What Will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States? With @profrosiecamp.bsky.social and @jonilo.bsky.social Listen to the episode: tinyurl.com/urgeqrhyeq #Podcasts #President #Politics @ucl.ac.uk

Do we need a more expansive understanding of how democratic power should be structured and overseen? New podcast with Daniel Hind produced by @uclspp.bsky.social @alanrenwick.bsky.social in partnership with PQ. 🎧 Listen now: