Kathryn Simpson

Biography

Dr Kathryn Simpson is Associate Professor of Politics and Economics of the EU, Director of Research at Keele Business School, and Deputy Director of Keele Institute for Social Inclusion (KISI)
 
Her research interests include:
- Ireland’s relationship with the EU
- Political behaviour and public opinion in the EU, UK, and Ireland
- British-Irish relations post-Brexit

She is author of two books on Ireland and the EU.
The first, Nationalism in Internationalism: Ireland’s Relationship with the European Union (co-authored with Michael Holmes and published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2023) examines 50 years of Ireland's membership of the EU and presents an original interpretation of the Irish-EU relationship from two apparently contradictory political ideas - internationalism and nationalism
 
Her second book, Ireland, and the European Union: Economic, Political and Social Crises (co-edited with Michael Holmes and published by Manchester university Press in 2021) examines how Ireland's relationship with the EU was affected by a succession of crises, notably the 2008 economic and financial crisis and the 2016 Brexit crisis, in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
 
Her work has also been published in leading academic journals such as the Journal of European Public Policy, the Journal of Common Market Studies, and Irish Political Studies
 
Dr Simpson is a regular media commentator on European, British, and Irish politics. Notable media contributions include live election night coverage of the 2024 UK General Election for RTE (Ireland’s national television and radio broadcaster), being appointed the Lead Academic Commentator on Brexit for BBC Breakfast between 2016-19 and providing academic insight as a ‘Presenter’s Friend’ on BBC 5Live Question Time Extra Time programme
 
Prior to joining Keele, Dr Simpson worked as a Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at Manchester Metropolitan University and has held research and teaching positions at the University of Manchester (Lecturer) and University of Kent (Assistant Lecturer). She has over thirteen years teaching and research experience in UK Higher Education.
 
She has also held national research leadership positions as the Deputy Director of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (JMCE) and as the Elected Secretary of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES).
 
She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Kent, an MA in Contemporary European Politics (Euromasters) from the University of Bath/Sciences-Po Paris and a BA in European Studies and French from Queen’s University Belfast.

Research and scholarship

Research

Dr Simpson’s research expertise covers the areas of comparative European politics, political behaviour & political economy.

Dr Simpson is interested in supervising PhD students who wish to explore the three following areas (broadly defined):

1. Conceptualizing Brexit - how politics and policy will impact UK and EU governance
2. Inequality, economic insecurity and risk in the global and European context
3. Euroscepticism
4. Irish Politics - in particular, Ireland - EU and Northern Ireland - EU relations

Scholarship

Dr Simpson is a member of the following learned societies and organizations

• Elected Secretary and Trustee, Academic Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES)
• Member, Political Studies Association (PSA)
• Member, Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI)
• Fellow, the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

External examining

External Examiner, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland