Ruud Wouters is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Tilburg University. His research examines how social movements achieve (or fail to achieve) desired outcomes across multiple dimensions, including protest mobilization, media coverage, public opinion shifts, and policy reforms. His current PROVOKE project specifically analyzes political responsiveness to street protests via social media platforms. Wouters maintains affiliations with The Center for the Study of Social Movements at the University of Notre Dame through the Mobilizing Ideas platform, which hosts scholarly dialogues on social movement research. His work falls within these key areas: Dynamics of protest participation and mobilization Media framing of social movements Public opinion formation regarding activism Policy change mechanisms Social media's role in political responsiveness
Dr. Dan Paget is an Assistant Professor in Politics at the University of Sussex, School of Law, Politics and Sociology, where he serves as Principal Investigator of NEWREPUBLIC, a five-year €1.5 million project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) as a Starting Grant beginning in January 2026. His research focuses on contemporary democratic and authoritarian ideologies, examining how democracy and autocracy are conceptualized, critiqued, and legitimized in political discourse. He specializes in political communication with particular emphasis on the role of mass rallies in political communication, especially in African contexts. Dr. Paget challenges conventional understandings of authoritarian populism by introducing the concept of 'elitist plebeianism' to describe how authoritarian leaders construct narratives of legitimacy that simultaneously emphasize leader superiority and connection to ordinary citizens. Dr. Paget's principal site of research is Tanzania, where he has spent more than a decade chronicling political struggles. He has published extensively on Tanzania's leading opposition party, Chadema, and the authoritarian turn under Presidents Magufuli and Hassan. His research analyzes how authoritarian regimes construct narratives of legitimacy and how opposition movements develop effective mobilizing ideologies. His scholarly work appears in leading journals including Journal of Democracy, Government and Opposition, and Democratization, with significant citations and media attention. His research has been cited over 300 times according to available metrics, with multiple articles receiving coverage in news outlets, policy sources, and academic platforms. Principal Investigator: NEWREPUBLIC (ERC Starting Grant, €1.5M, 2026-2031) British Academy Grant: 'Priming Republican Attitudes?' (2025-2027) ESRC Grant: 'Mythmaking, Mega-events, and Coercion' (External Fellow, 2025-2026) At Sussex, Dr. Paget convenes 'Communicating Politics,' 'Contesting Authoritarianism,' and 'Authoritarianism and its Critics,' while contributing to 'Modern Political Thought' and Foundation Year teaching. He maintains regular office hours and actively seeks to connect his research with practitioners working on anti-authoritarian movements worldwide.
Sophie Stowers serves as a Research Associate at UK in a Changing Europe, an influential research initiative based at King's College London. Her work bridges academic analysis and public discourse, focusing on the evolving dynamics of British politics within the post-Brexit context through evidence-based research and timely commentary. Her research portfolio centers on three interconnected domains: UK-EU relations examining diplomatic and economic ties after Brexit; British political parties analyzing strategic positioning and voter alignment; and public opinion dynamics tracking shifts in voter sentiment and electoral behavior. This tripartite focus enables comprehensive analysis of how political institutions adapt to changing public attitudes in contemporary Britain. As a core contributor to UK in a Changing Europe, Stowers operates within a collaborative research environment that produces high-impact publications for policymakers and media. The initiative's cross-disciplinary approach combines political science, sociology, and policy analysis to address complex questions about Britain's political trajectory, with Stowers' work particularly emphasizing electoral systems, party competition, and the practical implications of Brexit for governance.
Jean Jenkins serves as Professor of Employment Relations and Co-Director of WISERD (Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data) at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. Her work focuses on labor rights within global garment supply chains, with active research partnerships including the Clean Clothes Campaign and Cividep-India. Her research interests center on labor exploitation in global supply chains , particularly examining worker representation, access to remedy mechanisms, and gender dynamics in the garment sector. Recent projects investigate debt relations in Indian factories , urgent appeals for worker rights , and trade union renewal strategies . Jenkins employs longitudinal, workplace-centered methodologies with strong emphasis on grassroots perspectives. Notable projects include the ESRC GCRF-funded Operationalising Labour Rights study in Bangalore garment factories and the Building Worker Voice analysis of Clean Clothes Campaign mechanisms. Her work directly informs international labor advocacy through collaborations with NGOs like Labour Behind the Label. Jenkins actively disseminates findings through high-impact channels including the Hay Festival (2019, 2024), ITV Wales coverage on labor history, and academic publications. She recently contributed to the 2024 book Experimenting for Union Renewal and leads the Wales TUC's Future of Devolution and Work Commission.
Espen Geelmuyden Rød is a Visiting Researcher at Uppsala University's Department of Peace and Conflict Research. His research quantitatively analyzes political violence, democratization processes, and digital technology's impact on social movements. Ongoing projects include leading studies on protest escalation dynamics, climate policy impacts on unrest, and mobilization patterns in democratic movements. Research Focus: Rød specializes in conflict early-warning systems, protest data analysis, and authoritarian regime behaviors. Key methodologies include statistical modeling of violence predictors, dataset development for repressive actors, and evaluating internet influences on political activism. His work bridges computational methods with peace/conflict theory. Publication Trends: Recent articles (2015-2025) demonstrate evolving expertise in predictive conflict modeling and digital activism. Dominant themes include protest escalation mechanisms in autocracies, election-related violence forecasting, and climate policy impacts on social unrest. Methodological contributions feature prominently in dataset creation and model validation frameworks.
