Politics research

Discover how our research tackles pressing political challenges and drives real-world impact.

Explore research in the Department of Politics

Our research-intensive department is driven by pressing political issues and real-world challenges. We foster collaboration across Sussex and beyond, providing opportunities to exchange ideas and engage with global perspectives.

We’re ranked 7th in the UK for the quality of research outputs from the Department of Politics in REF 2021 (UoA25 Area Studies submission. Ranked by Grade Point Average (GPA) in the Times Higher Education).

Our distinctiveness comes from our focus in different areas of expertise, including:

area studies (including Africa, Europe, and India)
corruption
party politics
populism
political history
political thought.

We’re home to two world-leading research centres – the Sussex European Institute and the Centre for the Study of Corruption. Our academics are at the forefront of political research. They edit major international journals including Party Politics, Government and Opposition, the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, and Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory.

Learn more about our academics’ research interests.

Interested in studying a PhD?

If you want to join us a collaborative research department and analyse how politics shapes our lives, find out about our Politics PhD.

See our research impact

Learn about the impact our research has had across a range of topics.

Identifying the corruption risks in public spending

Professor Elizabeth David-Barrett and colleagues have created a tool to help governments, civil society organisations and donors control corruption of public funds.

Find out more.

What can a sunken medieval island tell us about local and regional identities?

The Ravenser Odd project is a collaboration with the National Archives that has produced a touring exhibition about this short-lived medieval town on an island in the Humber. We explore how this can tell us about local and regional identities, the natural environment, and 'weird history'.

Image credit: Courtesy British Library (Royal 18 D. III)

Find out more.

How to combat corruption: Professor Dan Hough talks about how his research will help the Met clamp down on international crime

Research activity

Learn more about the research activity taking place across the Department of Politics.

The Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence programme (GI ACE)
GI ACE, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), focuses on delivering actionable and context-sensitive research. By addressing the complexities of corruption, this research aims to inform innovative and effective policy options.
The Making of Grey Power: How Political Understandings Develop Over the Life Course
This Leverhulme Trust funded project uses previously overlooked longitudinal qualitative data from the Mass Observation Archive (MOA) to answer a fundamental research question: how do political understandings develop over the life course?
The Political Party Database
The Political Party Database Project is a multi-country collaborative effort to advance the study of party-based representative democracy. It collects data about political parties and provides information on party resources and events, party structures and institutions, and national legislative elections from over 50 countries since 2017.

Explore more of our research activities by subscribing to our Sussex Politics Substack.