Dr Joseph Ward
BA, MA, PhD
Department of Politics and International Relations
Teaching Associate


Full contact details
Department of Politics and International Relations
Elmfield Building
Northumberland Road
Sheffield
S10 2TU
- Profile
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Joseph Ward joined the Department of Politics and International Relations in September 2021. He completed a PhD in Politics and International Relations at the University of Birmingham in July 2022, where he also holds a BA and an MA. He teaches across a range of modules in Politics and International Relations.
Joe's research to-date has centred on the politics of the UK constitution, particularly the role of the referendum and processes of centralisation within UK governance. His PhD thesis focused on the emergence of the referendum in the UK in the 1970s, analysing the depoliticising motivations behind deployment and the politicising effects of the device on the wider state-system. Adopting an historical-analytical approach, Joe's work seeks to understand the interaction between constitutional change and state reform in the context of wider shifts in British political economy. He has taught extensively in the fields of UK and European politics and international political economy at both Birmingham and Sheffield, and has also held posts in Education at Birmingham, conducting research into professional education and innovative teaching methods in Higher Education.
- Qualifications
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- BA English Literature & American Studies (2012)
- MA Political Science (2014)
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Eduction Academy (2018)
- PhD Political Science and International Relations (2022)
- Research interests
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- UK politics
- Constitutional politics
- Executive politics
- State theory
- Comparative historical analysis
- Critical political economy
- Neoliberalism
- Public policy
- Democratic theory
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Reasserting the Centre: The Brexit Doctrine and the Imperative Mandate in British Politics. Parliamentary Affairs, 74(4), 890-910.
- The value of character-based judgement in the professional domain. Journal of Business Ethics, 169(2), 293-308.
- From Brexit to COVID-19: The Johnson Government, Executive Centralisation and Authoritarian Populism. Political Studies, 003232172110637-003232172110637.
Chapters
- Democratic change and ‘the referendum effect’ in the UK, Virtues in the Public Sphere (pp. 234-249). Routledge
- Reasserting the Centre: The Brexit Doctrine and the Imperative Mandate in British Politics. Parliamentary Affairs, 74(4), 890-910.
- Research group
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Political Economy, Governance and Public Policy
- Teaching interests
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My approach to teaching is focused on the development of critical, active learners who are able to co-constitute knowledge in the classroom. This is underpinned by the philosophies of democratic education and critical pedagogy, areas in which I am interested both academically and practically. I hold an Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, and I am currently in the process of completing Fellowship accreditation.
- Teaching activities
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- Approaches to Political Economy
- Development
- British Politics
- Capitalism and Crisis