News and Blog

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…

Teachers in England who are expecting an Ofsted inspection in the coming 12 months have worse job quality and a higher work intensity, according to a report. The study from academics at Cardiff University and University College London (UCL) also showed that the conditions for teaching professionals have barely changed since the pandemic and have,…

I recently presented new WISERD research on human rights during the pandemic at the International Political Studies Association Congress in Buenos Aires. My research findings aligned with the conference theme of ‘Politics in the Age of Transboundary Crises’ and examine how political elites in East Africa used the crisis as a pretext for rights suppression….

Professor Michael Woods, Professor Alan Renwick and Dr Anwen Elias. The Centre for Welsh Politics and Society at Aberystwyth University hosted its Annual Lecture on the prospects for democratic reform in the United Kingdom. Leading academic Professor Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, delivered the lecture entitled “Do the…

At the end of the 2021-22 school year, we surveyed young people in Years 8, 10 and 12 about their experiences of returning to school. The pandemic has contributed to a high number of school absences and challenging behaviour in the classroom and we asked the pupils about issues relating to absences and how they…