Centre

Centre on the Politics of Representation in Crisis (CPRC)

Part of Department of Government

A black and white photograph of a political rally.

Our work links representation and crisis across the developed and developing world

Knowledge of politics in the developing world produces crucial insights for political representation in the West, especially for questions of representation during crises. The Centre on the Politics of Representation in Crisis (CPRC) is dedicated to exploring and understanding these insights.
Our key aims
  • To investigate the role of political representation in the development of effective political institutions before, during and after crises, and understand how crises might upend these institutions
  • To understand political representation in times of crisis, especially for minorities, refugees and women
  • To determine how political representation can transform institutions and enhance capacity building them both at the national and the local levels

Highlights of our research

Events

Our members regularly host workshops and attend research seminars to discuss and promote their work. Some of their most notable appearances include:

  • 17 March 2022: A discussion panel event entitled Understanding the Crisis in Ukraine, designed to help students and staff understand the implications of the Ukraine war. The panel included Dr Alexandra Hennessy, Dr Prabin Khadka, Dr Reed Wood, Professor Brian Phillips, Ms Ireen Litvak-Zur and Professor Faten Ghosn. The event was hosted at the University of Essex. 
  • 2 March 2022: Workshop on effective engagement for early career researchers and PhD students, delivered by Sense in Science who champion the public interest in sound science. The workshop provided training on how to effectively engage the public, journalists and policymakers with your research and make your voice heard in public debates about science. Participants learned how they can challenge misrepresentations of science and evidence in public life and how to communicate findings and involve the public in your research. The workshop consisted of discussions and practical exercises to build the participants’ skills and confidence when engaging with the public. Sense about Science shared their top tips and tricks with the participants that they have picked up over 18 years of standing up for sound science.
  • 22 January 2022: Training workshop on 'Working Outside Academia' with Ali Whelan. This interactive session (discussion, polls, and chat functions) was designed to build understanding of the differences to be found between academic and non-academic world of work, how to effectively translate academic skills, behaviours, and attributes into non-academic environments.
  • 22 March 2019: Resilient Communities: Non-Violence and Civilian Agency in Communal War an event to showcase the book launch by Dr Jana Krause at the University of Essex.
  • March and June 2018: Grant Application Workshops: A collaboration between PhD students and members of CPRC. CPRC hosted two postgraduate student grant writing workshops in which a member of staff was paired with a student to prepare a grant application. The students were responsible for the preparation and application of the grant and for presenting the proposal within the workshops. As a result of these workshops, Dr Alexandra Hennessy was awarded a research grant from the British Academy for her work in collaboration with the PhD student Ioannis Choulis. The publication Aid Targeting in Post Conflict Nepal by Dr Martin Steinwand and Marco Binetti, was based on a presentation made in the workshop.
  • February 2018: The Electoral System, the Party System, and Electoral Accountability: A Presentation and PhD Seminar; Christopher Kam, Anthony Bertelli and Alexander Held presented research and spoke to graduate students on the topic of publishing strategies in political science.
  • July 2017: Parliamentary Reporting Workshop with Tim Fenton: The workshop included members of CPRC and Tim Fenton from the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies at the University of Essex, alongside many other journalism, political and media development professionals.

Publications

Our members regularly publish and contribute to work in leading journals. Examples of our most recent works include:

Research grants

Our members work hard to attract a range of research grants and funding for their cutting edge research. Some of their most notable awards include:

  • Dr Alexandra Hennessy was awarded a research grant from the British Academy for 2019 Patronage politics in Greece's public sector: Did policy conditionality increase performance-based hiring and promotions

  • Professor Royce Carroll was awarded a BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant from the British Academy for a research project on Party Representation Beyond Left-Right Ideology

Contact us
Centre on the Politics of Representation in Crisis University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ
Department of Government University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ
Telephone: 01206 872759