Teaching & Experiential Learning
This is a great time to study European affairs precisely because Europe is experiencing – for some years now - a crisis of trust and credibility. The European project has ceased to be as inspirational as it used to be. This course on European integration addresses the main forces behind the birth of the European Project and it also raises questions on the possibility of its opposite: disintegration and collapse of the EU. Studying possible scenarios of rebirth or collapse of the European project, in a country like the United Kingdom, where this decline is being materialised with/after Brexit, is not only academically exciting, but also culturally challenging.
As part of the experiential learning activities of POLS 338 we invite guest speakers with expertise and specialisation on European Security and Diplomacy who kindly offer their useful and pragmatic insights and generate debate on critical matters; we visit representation offices of the EU institutions in mainland Europe; we enjoy a thespian experience by watching a play on London’s theatre stage related to the broader cultural disruption of the post-Brexit reality.
I feel very lucky to teach in the intellectually liberal and inspirational environment of Queen’s University. The exchange of various viewpoints informed by diverse cultural and academic backgrounds is constantly promoted and encouraged at Bader College. Teaching politics and complicated world affairs is very stimulating in an uneasy international environment. Sharing the warm feeling of belonging to the lovely family of Bader College, housed in a beautiful English castle, is a very refreshing and unique experience.
Research
My research interests are in the area of Comparative Politics and Geopolitics with a particular interest in Post-Brexit European Politics.
Supervision
I can supervise projects on:
- Geopolitical challenges and Security Concerns in Europe
- Post-Brexit Politics, Global Britain and Popular Geopolitics
- Forces of (Dis)integration and the future of Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Ideological trends and patterns in 21st century Europe: Nationalism / Liberalism / Populism
- The war in Ukraine and the future of European Foreign Policy
- (Un)Democratic and (Il)Liberal behaviours and attitudes in Europe
Recent Publications
- K. Kyriakopoulou, ‘Authoritarian states and Internet social media: Instruments of democratization or instruments of control?’, Human Affairs, 21, 1, 18-26, March 2012.
- T. K. Saalfeld and K. Kyriakopoulou, ‘Presence and Behaviour: Black and Minority Ethnic MPs in the United Kingdom – An Exploratory Study’. Karen Bird, Thomas Saalfeld, Andreas M Würst (eds), The Political Representation of Immigrants and Minorities. London: Routledge, September 2011.