About

The Centre for Democratic Politics acts as a hub for research in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds, specialising in political engagement and democratic participation. Collectively, our aim is to analyse and theorise changing forms of engagement in an unstable and unpredictable political environment. In doing so we seek to encourage collaborative, cross-disciplinary research.

The Centre for Democratic Politics was established as the Centre for Democratic Engagement by Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Dr Jonathan Dean in 2017. The current CDP co-directors are Dr Sean McDaniel and Dr Eike Rinke. The Centre encompasses a wealth of academic backgrounds and methodological approaches: we include staff with backgrounds in British politics, political theory, political economy and quantitative research methods. You can find out more about our various projects and interests in the Research section.

As well as holding a collective interest in formal modes of political participation such as voting patterns and party membership, we also take a keen interest in the affective, emotional and symbolic dimensions of democratic participation and engagement. Moreover, we promote dialogue between academics and practitioners, in order to facilitate greater understanding of these formal and informal types of engagement.

The CDP is organised into two broad research clusters, 'British Politics' and 'Democratic Culture', reflecting the research expertise of its members.

The British Politics cluster brings together researchers examining a broad range of issues shaping contemporary Britain, from what happens in Westminster to the regional dynamics and global forces that structure British political and economic life. Its methodologically diverse research explores issues including political parties and their leadership, gender dynamics, national identity, Brexit, climate policy, foreign affairs, religion-politics relations, and parliamentary governance. The cluster is home to the IPEN network, and encourages cross-national comparative study and facilitates engagement- and impact-oriented British politics scholarship.

The Democratic Culture cluster brings together researchers of how citizens, media, tech firms and civil society shape democracy through participation, communication, activism and NGOs as well as of the norms, identities and narratives that underwrite them. The cluster foregrounds methodological innovation (qual, quant, computational) and aims to produce rigorous, policy-relevant research, collaborative bids and co-produced impact. We support cross-nationally comparative perspectives and the evaluation of engagement initiatives.