{"id":6076,"date":"2025-03-12T13:31:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T13:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/?p=6076"},"modified":"2025-03-12T13:31:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T13:31:36","slug":"learn-from-kents-leading-politics-and-economics-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/2025\/03\/12\/learn-from-kents-leading-politics-and-economics-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn from Kent\u2019s leading Politics and Economics experts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Politics dominates the national news headlines on a daily basis, from stories on Government activity and the economy through to international conflict and security. The University\u2019s academic experts are regularly called upon for these stories by the media, as their research often plays a significant role in influencing policy decision making and international relations that can affect many people around the world. This research also informs their teaching at Kent. Here are just some of the key worldwide current affairs that our experts from the\u00a0School of Economics, Politics and International Relations<\/a>\u00a0are contributing to.<\/p>\n

UK\/EU relations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five years on from the UK leaving the European Union, there is often comparison, reflections and predictions of the impact of this.\u00a0Professor Richard Whitman<\/a>, a Professor of Politics and International Relations and an expert in UK-EU foreign, security and defence policy relations, regularly comments on the changing landscape of UK\/EU relations following Brexit. His most recent commentary looks at\u00a0the current Labour government\u2019s EU relations five years on<\/a>. Professor Whitman\u2019s previous press coverage has included BBC radio and television, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, Newsweek, Reuters, the International Herald Tribune and the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s presidency<\/strong><\/p>\n

The US elections dominated the news agenda in 2024 and with Donald Trump being elected US President for a second term this hasn\u2019t slowed down.\u00a0Dr Andrew Wroe<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in American Politics and an expert on Trump, has been called upon regularly by Heart FM, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Kent and KMFM to give his thoughts on topics such as Trump\u2019s election race and what his\u00a0next Presidency may hold<\/a>. Dr Wroe also contributed to Newsweek magazine about the US election race.<\/p>\n

Dr Rubrick Biegon<\/a>, Lecturer in International Relations, is an expert on US foreign policy and has provided expert opinions \u00a0on how\u00a0US foreign policy may look\u00a0<\/a>during a \u00a0Trump\u2019 presidency. Dr Biegon has also been called upon by regional radio to give his thoughts on Trump\u2019s election race.<\/p>\n

Middle East<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the\u00a0Israel-Gaza war<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0airstrikes in Yemen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0changing governments in the Middle East<\/a>,\u00a0Dr Yaniv Voller<\/a>\u00a0(Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics) is regularly called upon by international media for his views. Dr Voller specialises in the geopolitics of the Middle East, the foreign policies of Middle Eastern states, providing explainers to the media on current situations and what could happen next in the region. His coverage has included Al Jazeera and BBC World Service.<\/p>\n

UK economy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UK economy is ever changing, and with the Labour government coming into power in 2024 we are seeing yet another shift in policies and use of public money.\u00a0Dr Alfred Duncan<\/a>\u00a0is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Kent, specialising in labour market outcomes. His research exploring\u00a0economic business recovery during Covid-19<\/a>\u00a0has attracted attention from the\u00a0Telegraph<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Financial Times<\/a>. He has also been called upon to discuss the likes of 95% mortgages and cost of living and energy price rises by regional broadcasters ITV Meridian and BBC Radio Kent.<\/p>\n

Dr Amanda Gosling<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Head of the School of Economics, Politics and International Relations, is an expert in labour economics and the gender pay gap. Her research on the \u2018motherhood penalty\u2019 pay gap had widespread media coverage in 2022 including the Guardian and the Daily Mirror.<\/p>\n

Food economics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Food trade is regularly in the news, for example, how Brexit has affected EU trade deals, the impact of climate change and world conflicts affecting food trade supply internationally.\u00a0Professor of European Agricultural Policy, Sophia Davidova<\/a>, has participated in a range of international research projects and since 1989 has been involved in advisory work to government agencies in Central and Eastern European countries. She has contributed expert commentary on\u00a0rainfall\u2019s impact on food security<\/a>\u00a0and the previous UK Government launching a scheme to\u00a0incentivise farmers to retire<\/a>\u00a0which led to a national broadcast interview on BBC Radio 4\u2019s Farming Today show. Meanwhile, her research into the\u00a0impact of Brexit on farmers<\/a>\u00a0achieved press coverage across the UK.<\/p>\n

Dr Adelina Gschwandtner<\/a>\u00a0is a Senior Lecturer in Economics and her recent research focuses on the economics of happiness, particularly in regard to\u00a0preferences towards Organic Food<\/a>\u00a0and the relationship between\u00a0lifestyle and happiness<\/a>. Her research has been featured in national titles such as\u00a0the Daily Mail<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Stylist Magazine<\/a>, and international titles such as the\u00a0Times of India<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Politics dominates the national news headlines on a daily basis, from stories on Government activity and the economy through to international conflict and security. The … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78674,"featured_media":6077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70,722],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78674"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6076"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6078,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076\/revisions\/6078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}