News and Blog

As part of a series of blog posts on civil society and animal welfare, here we look at emerging findings from our analysis of civil society organisations’ (CSOs’) campaigning to ban greyhound racing in Wales and Scotland. This is prompted by welfare concerns and relatedly, because races in these countries are not subject to statutory…

International, comparative and action research can be shaped through an unexpected and highly unpredictable rationale when conducting fieldwork research. In 1946, Kurt Lewin defined action research as ‘transformative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action that employs a spiral of steps, each consisting of a cycle of planning, action, and…

Professor W. John Morgan’s book, on the celebrated Austrian Jewish philosopher and educator Martin Buber, Buber and Education: Dialogue as Conflict Resolution,  (with Alexandre Guilherme), Routledge, 2014, has been translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil by the PUCR University Press, Porto Allegre, with the support of the Brazilian National Commission for UNESCO. Martin Buber…

As part of a series of blog posts on our research on civil society activism and animal welfare rights, here we share some emerging findings on the impact of devolution in the UK. A key finding from our series of in-depth interviews with campaigners representing civil society organisations (CSOs) is their frustration with Westminster and…

While academic literature on environmentalism has long emphasised the interdependence and fragility of all life forms on earth, scholarly work on civil society has largely overlooked the position of non-humans. Our research is seeking to address this by examining contemporary civil society advocacy for animal welfare rights in the UK. As part of a series…

On 31 July, in light of Rishi Sunak, the prime minister’s announcement of plans to grant over 100 new oil and gas licences for the North Sea, Dr Aaron Thierry appeared on BBC News to explain what this means for the UK’s net zero targets. He explained why licencing new oil and gas will not…

Analysis of Plaid Cymru and its new leader by WISERD co-director, Dr Anwen Elias and Dr Elin Royles from the Centre for Welsh Politics and Society at Aberystwyth University appeared in The Conversation on 17 July. It was also republished in Golwg on 20 July and the Western Mail on 22 July.    

John Morgan, Honorary Professor and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow at WISERD, based at Cardiff University has written a book review essay which has been published in the journal, Eurasian Geography and Economics. Professor Morgan says: “There is now an extensive literature on the related concepts of soft power and modernity” and this essay reviews some notable…

Professor Alan Felstead spoke to Jason Mohammad about Rishi Sunak’s proposal to put a limit on ‘low value’ degree courses. (BBC Radio Wales, approx. 10 mins in, 17/07/23)

Rhun ap Iorwerth was appointed as Plaid Cymru’s new leader mid-June 2023. He replaced Adam Price, who stood down in response to a damaging report which found evidence of a culture of sexual harassment, bullying and misogyny in the party. An immediate priority for ap Iorwerth is to implement the report’s 82 recommendations. These include introducing new policies…