Dr Susan Kenyon considers the long-term environmental impact of the ‘super-spreader narrative’ surrounding public transport.
Public transport is facing a bit of an image problem.
Category: Research
How is COVID-19 affecting Kent’s migrant population?
In the latest installment of our blog series “The Impact of COVID-19 on Kent and Medway”, Dr Laura Cashman reflects on the implications for migrants living in Kent and Medway.
Migrants have been in the news a lot this week. The Immigration Bill to introduce a new points-based system passed its second reading in Parliament, signalling the government’s intention to press ahead with its populist plans to make immigration more difficult and expensive. On the other hand, following a public outcry, the government was forced to exempt migrant NHS and care workers from the NHS Surcharge and extend the NHS Coronavirus Bereavement Scheme to support families of low paid migrant workers. It is clear that the politics around so-called ‘good’ and ‘bad’ migration will not go away any time soon and the fallout from COVID-19 will certainly play a role in how the debates are shaped.
The Impact of Coronavirus – Personal Stories from Kent and Medway
Dr Sarah Lieberman and Dr Soeren Keil introduce their new CEFEUS research project “The Impact of COVID-19 on Kent and Medway”.
We are living in extra-ordinary times. Never has this phrase rung truer than today, in 2020, as we witness the global population come together in an unprecedented way, while staying apart in an equally unprecedented way.
Capitalism After Covid-19
What implications does COVID-19 have for the future of capitalism? In the first of a series of blog posts, Professor David Bates suggests that the current COVID-19 shock is likely to produce a new and increasingly exploitative form of ‘self-regulatory’ capitalism; yet it may also open up a new line of questioning against the current global economic status quo, in which the balance between employers and employees starts to be reset.
Territorial Politics, Coronavirus and The UK: Cooperation amidst Crisis
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to dominate political debate, Dr Paul Anderson examines the intergovernmental interaction between the different governments in the UK, and argues that while tensions may now be appearing concerning lock-down strategies, intergovernmental relations have generally proceeded in the spirit of cooperation with the governments closely working together.
Coronavirus and the Art of Counting
Data and hard facts are increasingly disputed by the media and the government during the coronavirus crisis. Dr Soeren Keil reflects on the never-ending debates about the benefits of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and argues that too narrow a focus on numbers can be dangerous from both scientific and political political perspectives.
4 REASONS WHY THE LOCKDOWN REDUCTION IN TRAVEL WON’T STICK – AND 7 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE IT TO DO SO
Will our experience of reducing our travel during the Covid-19 crisis have a lasting impact on our travel behaviour? Dr Susan Kenyon considers the evidence, before suggesting 7 policy interventions that could support lasting change.
Revisiting Federalism and Decentralisation in the Age of Coronavirus
In the last two weeks, we have seen a dramatic escalation of the coronavirus crisis, particularly in Europe and more recently in the United States. There are also growing worries about the spread of the virus in developing countries, and particularly in parts of the world, which are known for poor health care provisions and their inefficient resilience against wider health crises.
However, when comparing the spread of the virus, and the number of deaths in several countries, some interesting patterns emerge.
MOVEMENT² ESRC Festival of Social Science
People craned out of windows and gathered on corners to watch as nearly a hundred young people chanted, danced and demanded their right to freedom from fear. On Tuesday 6th of November, a project by the Politics and International Relations department at Canterbury Christ Church University gave life to the political ambitions of 16-18 year olds from across Kent; proving that joy really can be an act of resistance. Consensus decision making and the impact we can all have on those close to us were key messages that participants were left with, as they were encouraged to devise their own political movement. After developing their ideas with the department’s academics, the students created a political carnival of banners, chants and music.
The carnival occupied the University’s main campus, demanding safer streets and letting the watching crowds know that responses to street crime and the lack of street lighting in their areas would no longer be tolerated. This was the culmination of work developed as part of the Tate Exchange programme with Prof. David Bates and Tom Sharkey along with second year Politics students who helped to organise the day as part of their module on Contemporary Political Theory. The day formed part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences organised by Dr Paul Anderson. Although the messages were serious there was a real sense of fun and excitement across the campus and all of those involved left emboldened and joyful. Prof Bates reflected that: ‘Too often we hear about the political apathy of young people. Today we have witnessed quite the opposite’.
Students from 2nd year Contemporary Political Theory helped organise the day 
Sea Change in Spain? – The 2019 Spanish General Election
Spanish politics has featured highly in media headlines over the last few years from the breakthrough of parties such as Podemos and Ciudadanos (Citizens), the failed unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan government in 2017, to the cascade of corruption accusations and charges that ultimately precipitated the collapse of the conservative PP government in June 2018. The latest general election, however, did not register any signs of voter fatigue. Turnout was over 75%, well above the average recorded in general elections since the Spanish transition to democracy.