Staff Profile:Alan Renwick

Name:

Dr Alan Renwick

Job Title:

Reader in Comparative Politics

Responsibilities:

I teach and convene the Part One module on Modern Government, the Part Two module on British Government and Politics and the Part Three module on the Politics of Electoral Systems. I also teach Part Two Comparative Government and Politics. I convene our Postgraduate Seminars in Politics and give part of the University Graduate School's Researcher Development Programme. From January 2012, I shall be Director of Postgraduate Research Studies in Politics and International Relations.

Areas of Interest:

My work lies in the area of comparative politics and is nested within the School's research theme on Applied Political Theory. My current research focuses on political and electoral reform in the UK and around the world. My first book, The Politics of Electoral Reform: Changing the Rules of Democracy, was published by Cambridge University Press in early 2010. My second book, A Citizen's Guide to Electoral Reform was published by Biteback in 2011.

I am now extending my existing research in two directions. With the generous support of the Nuffield Foundation, I am analysing change in debates over political reform in the UK since the 1960s. And with the support of the McDougall Trust, I am exploring electoral system change across Europe since 1945. I am particularly interested in understanding how changing popular attitudes towards democracy and representation influence institutional choices, how values as well as self-interest influence the ways in which both politicians and mass publics approach issues of institutional reform, and how choices in new democracies differ from those in established democracies.

I also have a research stream looking into the nature of political leadership. I am particularly interested in understanding what leaders actually do and how this varies across diverse contexts.

 

Research groups / Centres:

Publications:

Books

A Citizen's Guide to Electoral Reform. London: Biteback, 2011.

The Politics of Electoral Reform: Changing the Rules of Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Briefing Papers

'House of Lords Reform: A Briefing Paper', Political Studies Association, July 2011.

'The Alternative Vote: A Briefing Paper', Political Studies Association, March 2011.

Articles

"Electoral System Choice in Europe since 1945". West European Politics 34, no. 3 (May 2011), pp. 456-77. DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2011.555975.

• For the online supplement to this article, please click here.

"The Role of Dissident Values in Institutional Choice: 1989 in Comparative Perspective". East European Politics and Societies, 25, no. 2 (May 2011), pp. 296-317. DOI: 10.1177/0888325410387645.

"The Expenses Scandal and the Politics of Electoral Reform", with Michael Lamb and Berna Numan, Political Quarterly, 82, no. 1 (January-March 2011), pp. 32-41. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-923X.2011.02168.x.

"Do 'Wrong Winner' Elections Trigger Electoral Reform? Lessons from New Zealand", Representation 45, no. 4 (November 2009), pp. 357-367.

."How Likely Is Proportional Representation in the House of Commons? Lessons from International Experience", Government & Opposition 44, no. 4 (October 2009), pp. 366-384. DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-7053.2009.01292.x

"Partisan Self-Interest and Electoral Reform: The New Italian Electoral Law of 2005", with Chris Hanretty and David Hine, Electoral Studies 28, no. 3 (September 2009), pp. 437-447. DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2009.04.003.

"Why Did National Promise a Referendum on Electoral Reform in 1990?". Political Science 59, no. 1 (June 2007), 7-22.

"Antipolitical or Just Anticommunist? Varieties of Dissidence in East-Central Europe, and their Implications for the Development of Political Society".East European Politics and Societies 20, no. 2 (spring 2006), 286-318.

"Why Hungary and Poland Differed in 1989: The Role of Medium-Term Frames in Explaining the Outcomes of Democratic Transition".Democratization 13, no. 1 (February 2006), 36-57.

"Modelling Multiple Goals: Electoral System Preferences in Hungary in 1989".Europe-Asia Studies 57, no. 7 (November 2005), 995-1019.

"A politikatudomány oktatása" ["The Teaching of Political Science"].BUKSZ (Budapesti Könyvszemle) [Budapest Review of Books] 15, no. 2 (summer 2003), 117-121.

Chapters

"Introduction to ECPR Classics Edition", in Stein Rokkan, Citizens, Elections, Parties: Approaches to the Comparative Study of the Processes of Development (Colchester: ECPR Press, 2009), pp. i-xix. First edition published by Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1970.

"The Role of Non-Elite Forces in the Regime Change".In The Roundtable Talks of 1989: The Genesis of Hungarian Democracy, edited by András Bozóki.Budapest: Central European University Press, 2002, pp. 191-210.

"Eliten kívüli erok szerepe a rendszerváltásban" ["The Role of Non-Elite Forces in the Régime Change"].In A rendszerváltás forgatókönyve.Kerekasztal-tárgyalások 1989-ben.Hetedik kötet: Alkotmányos Forradalom: Tanulmányok a rendszerváltásról [The Script of the Régime Change: Roundtable Talks in 1989.Vol. 7: Constitutional Revolution: Studies of the Régime Change], edited by András Bozóki et al.Budapest: Új Mandátum, 2000, pp. 659-678.

With Gábor Tóka, "East Meets West".In British—and European—Social Attitudes: The 15th Report: How Britain Differs, edited by Roger Jowell et al.Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998, pp. 149-171.

Recent Conference Papers

"The 2011 Electoral System Referendum in the UK: The Quality of Debate in the Print Media", with Michael Lamb. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Seattle, 1-4 September 2011.

"The Personalization of Electoral Systems: Theory and European Evidence", with Jean-Benoit Pilet. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the European Consortium of Political Science, Reykjavík, Iceland, 25-27 August 2011.

"UK Electoral Reform in Comparative Perspective". Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Political Studies Association, London, 19-21 April 2011.

"Is there a Trend towards the Personalization of Electoral Systems?", with Jean-Benoit Pilet. Paper presented at the EPOP Annual Conference, University of Essex, 10-12 September 2010.

"The Debate over Electoral Reform in the UK: The Impact of the MPs' Expenses Scandal", with Michael Lamb and Berna Numan. Paper presented at the EPOP Annual Conference, University of Essex, 10-12 September 2010.

"The Empirics of Moral Leadership", with Nigel Bowles. Paper presented at the workshop "Political Leadership: Developing a Comparative Framework", University of Oxford, 28-30 June 2010.

"The Multiple Roles of Values in Electoral Reform", with Jean-Benoit Pilet. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Toronto, 3-6 September 2009.

"Political Leadership in Anglophone Democracies", with Nigel Bowles. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Toronto, 3-6 September 2009.

"The Role of Values in Institutional Choice: 1989 in Comparative Perspective". Paper presented at the conference "Europe and the World before and after 1989: Trans-national and comparative perspectives on Eastern and Western Europe", University of Padua, Italy, 10-12 June 2009.

"Comparing Electoral Reform in Old, New, and Fragile Democracies". Paper presented at the workshop "Why Electoral Reform? The Determinants, Policy, and Politics of Changing Electoral Systems", European Consortium for Political Research Joint Sessions of Workshops, Lisbon, 14-19 April 2009.

"Is There a Trend in the Direction of Electoral Reforms in Established Democracies?". Paper presented at the annual EPOP Conference,Manchester, 12-14 September 2008.

"The Politics of Electoral Reform in Established Democracies". Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 28-31 August 2008.

"Legitimacy Constraints upon Self-Interested Electoral Reform: A Comparative Study". Paper presented at the 4th ECPR General Conference,
Pisa, 6th-8th September 2007.

"Is There a Trend in the Direction of Electoral Reforms in Established Democracies?". Paper presented at the annual EPOP Conference,Manchester, 12-14 September 2008.

"The Politics of Electoral Reform in Established Democracies". Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 28-31 August 2008.

"Legitimacy Constraints upon Self-Interested Electoral Reform: A Comparative Study". Paper presented at the 4th ECPR General Conference,
Pisa, 6th-8th September 2007.

"Is There a Trend in the Direction of Electoral Reforms in Established Democracies?". Paper presented at the annual EPOP Conference,Manchester, 12-14 September 2008.

"The Politics of Electoral Reform in Established Democracies". Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 28-31 August 2008.

"Legitimacy Constraints upon Self-Interested Electoral Reform: A Comparative Study". Paper presented at the 4th ECPR General Conference,
Pisa, 6th-8th September 2007.

 

Qualifications:

BA, M.Phil., and D.Phil. (Oxford
MA and M.Phil. (Central European University, Budapest)