Regional studies

POLIS staff have an exceptionally wide range of regional expertise, encompassing Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, South and East Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

POLIS research explores contemporary issues of governance, cooperation, competition and conflict across most of the regions of the world. Our approach is both theoretical and empirical; but we are particularly interested in the practical implications of how regions are imagined, ordered, and institutionalised. Our work ranges from China’s Belt and Road initiative, to the EU’s management of Brexit, and the gender and conflict dynamics of Sub-Saharan African conflicts.

Staff have leading roles in a number of research organizations, such as Prof Simon Usherwood, who is currently President of UACES (the University Association for Contemporary European Studies) and Dr Brigitte Weiffen who is Chair of Research Committee 34 "Quality of Democracy" of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). POLIS staff research has been funded by the Horizon programme, the British Academy, Leverhulme and the ESRC.

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English. 

Potential research projects

• EU legitimacy and participation, European civil society, UK-EU relations and Brexit
• China’s Belt and Road Initiative
• Middle East politics and Oil diplomacy
• Latin American regional cooperation
• African  development, trade, security and conflict resolution

Potential supervisors

• Dr Filippo Boni
• Dr William Brown
• Dr Georgina Holmes 
• Prof Simon Usherwood
• Dr Brigitte Weiffen

Fees and funding

Research students can apply for funding via the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership with Oxford and Brunel, or the Open-Oxford-Cambridge DTP in collaboration with Oxford and Cambridge universities. The Citizenship Studies pathway of the Grand Union DTP is hosted within the Department. Alternatively, many of our students are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

Links

• Politics and International Studies at The Open University
• Postgraduate Research in Politics & International Studies (POLIS)
• Research at The Open University