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Dr Anwen Elias is Reader in Politics at Aberystwyth University's Department of International Politics, where she has been a faculty member since February 2005. She serves as Co-Director of both the Centre for Welsh Politics and Society and the Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD). Her academic career spans nearly two decades at Aberystwyth, during which she has established herself as a leading expert in territorial and constitutional politics.
Dr Elias holds a BA Hons from Cambridge University, an MA from the College of Europe in Bruges, and a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence. Her educational background reflects her deep engagement with European politics and institutions.
Dr Elias's research focuses on territorial and constitutional politics, nationalism and secession, with particular attention to Western Europe. She examines the attitudes of nationalist and regionalist parties towards European integration and how these parties adapt to constitutional change. Her current projects investigate territorial politics during economic and political crises, the role of regionalist parties in achieving justice, and citizen perspectives on secession debates. Her work combines comparative analysis with in-depth case studies of regions like Catalonia, Scotland, and Wales.
Her publications reveal consistent themes in comparative regionalism, secessionist movements, and political party strategies. She has developed innovative approaches to studying territorial demands through the FraTerr dataset and has extensively analyzed how nationalist parties frame their arguments for independence. Her research bridges theoretical political science with practical implications for governance and democratic innovation.
- Co-Director of the Centre for Welsh Politics and Society
- Co-Director of WISERD
- Chair of Innovating Democracy Advisory Group
- Commissioner on the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Dr Elias plays a significant role in major research initiatives including the Welsh Election Study 2026, the Horizon2020-funded project on regionalist parties and justice, and the ESRC-funded study on citizen perspectives on secession. She has secured funding from prestigious sources including UACES, the Aberystwyth University Research Fund, and the Learned Society for Wales.
