Research projects

The aim of this is to explore contemporary identity politics in post-communist Europe and re-assess the methodologies with which we study ethnicity in Eastern and Central Europe.

Professor Erika Harris is part of this international collaborative project on borders, sovereignty and self-determination in contemporary Europe. The project includes the disciplines of political science, international relations and law.

The Dynamics of Nationalist Evolution in Contemporary Spain focuses on the Catalan and Basque Nationalist movements, exploring their relations with central government since the 1990s. The purpose is to gain a better understanding of why regionally-based nationalist movements have experienced different relationships with the Spanish state over time.

The central aim of this research has been to understand the drivers and dynamics behind the behaviour of nationalist parties, some of which have come to adopt sovereignty-based objectives while others have sought to achieve greater autonomy within the context of the existing state.

This research programme led by Dr Alex Balch is made up of a series of projects completed or underway that focus on the challenges which governments face when attempting to tackle the crime of human trafficking.