pathway: Political Sciences and International Studies Alumni

I am interested in how images are playing an increasingly important role in shaping how politics is understood and experienced in a media environment which sees the logics of legacy media and social media coexist, clash and coevolve. My PhD thesis applies this interest in the visual aspect of politics to the imagery used to depict Jeremy Corbyn during his tenure as leader of the UK Labour Party. I use discourse analysis to show how meaning is constructed through the use of images accompanying headline text in traditional media formats, as well as through social media with the creation of image macros and memes, which also make use of text and image to construct meaning. More specifically, my research is focused on showing how imagery was employed, alongside text, to construct Corbyn as a threat to the UK during his four years as Labour leader and how these constructions were reinforced or resisted through social media.

Do people in the UK trust that their elections are free and fair? My research is on public attitudes towards electoral integrity and election administration in the UK. For the MRes thesis I am working on determining the relationship between mandatory Voter ID requirements in polling stations and confidence in the electoral process.

My thesis seeks to assess the mechanisms used by the EU to practically coordinate and employ its values (or norms) in EU-China diplomatic dialogues. The bilateral relationship represents arguably the hardest test case for the EU’s normative power, due to the tension between the Union’s significant economic interests and its constitutional mandate to uphold its values with this key bilateral partner, that holds different values in many areas.

I am examining the use of Facebook as a political campaign tool by British political parties across three contexts, the 2015 General Election, 2017 General Election and the 2016 Welsh Assembly Elections. Through analysing Facebook data and undertaking interviews, I will evidence how and why Facebook is used, questioning its effectiveness and impact upon parties’ campaigns. Facebook appears to be a vital tool, that as part of a new data led political zeitgeist, within an era of party decline and radicalism, may help or hinder parties to campaign.