Dr Owen Parker

Department of Politics and International Relations

Senior Lecturer in European Politics

o.parker@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 1695

2.02, Elmfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Owen Parker
Department of Politics and International Relations
2.02
Elmfield Building
Northumberland Road
Sheffield
S10 2TU

Profile

Owen Parker joined the Department as Lecturer in European Politics in April 2012 and became Senior Lecturer in 2015. He was awarded a PhD in Politics and International Studies from Warwick in September 2010 (ESRC funded), holds Masters degrees from Warwick (Politics, International Political Economy track, 2007) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (International Relations, 2002), and a BSc from Bath (Politics and Economics, 2000).

Owen’s research and teaching is focused on the politics and political economy of the European Union. Recent research consists of three related strands: the political economy of EU citizenship and migration within and into the EU (see Research projects below); the political economy of the contemporary EU, with a focus on the Eurozone crisis, economic governance and comparative political economy; and Brexit.

Owen’s academic interests dovetail with his prior professional experience. Following his MSc at the LSE, he worked from 2003-2006 as 'International Relations Officer' at the European Commission (Directorate General for Enlargement, Turkey Unit), working on the assessment of Turkey's fulfilment of the EU's Copenhagen political criteria (relating to human rights, democracy, rule of law, minority rights).

Owen is an Associate Fellow of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), where he contributes, in particular, to a programme of research entitled: Capitalism, Democracy and the State

He was previously Director of Undergraduate studies and is currently the department’s Director of MA Programmes.

Research interests

The political economy of the contemporary European Union
- EU economic governance
- Comparative European political economy
- The eurozone crisis
The politics and political economy of citizenship, mobility and migration in the European Union
Normative (political theory) and critical approaches to the European Union
The politics and political economy of Brexit
Progressive politics and the European Union

Key projects

Awarding Body: Leverhulme Trust (Research Fellowship)
Title of Research: Citizenship for Sale: Immigrant Investor Programmes in Crisis EU?
Duration: September 2014-2015
Total Award: £45,000

Awarding Body: Leverhulme Trust (Early Career Fellowship)
Title of Research: Roma Resistance in the EU: Beyond Cosmopolitan Government?
Duration: October 2011-2013
Total Award: approx. £55,000

Publications

Books

Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) Politics in the European Union 5th edition.
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2015) Politics in the European Union 4th edition. Oxford University Press, USA.
Parker O (2012) Cosmopolitan Government in Europe. Routledge.

Journal articles

Parker O (2022) The politics of free movement of people in the United Kingdom : beyond securitization and de-securitization?. Journal of Common Market Studies.
Parker O (2021) Europe’s crisis of legitimacy: governing by rules and ruling by numbers in the Eurozone. By Vivien A. Schmidt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. 358p. $105.00 cloth, $35.00 paper.. Perspectives on Politics, 19(1), 327-329.
Parker O (2018) A genealogy of EU discourses and practices of deliberative governance: Beyond states and markets?. Public Administration.
Parker O & Pye R (2018) Mobilising social rights in EU economic governance: a pragmatic challenge to neoliberal Europe. Comparative European Politics, 16(5), 805-824.
Parker O (2017) Critical political economy, free movement and Brexit: Beyond the progressive’s dilemma. British Journal of Politics & International Relations, 19(3), 479-496.
Parker O (2017) Commercializing Citizenship in Crisis EU: The Case of Immigrant Investor Programmes. Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(2), 332-348.
Parker O (2015) Teaching (Dissident) Theory in Crisis European Union. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 54(1), 37-52.
Parker O & Catalán ÓL (2014) Free Movement for Whom, Where, When? Roma EU Citizens in France and Spain. International Political Sociology, 8(4), 379-395.
Parker O & Toke D (2013) The Politics of a Multi-level Citizenship: French Republicanism, Roma Mobility and the EU. Global Society, 27(3), 360-378.
Parker O & Rosamond B (2013) 'Normative power Europe' meets economic liberalism: Complicating cosmopolitanism inside/outside the EU. Cooperation and Conflict, 48(2), 229-246.
Parker O (2012) The ethics of an ambiguous cosmopolitics: citizens and entrepreneurs in the European project. International Theory: a journal of international politics, law and philosophy, 4(2), 198-232.
Parker O (2012) Roma and the Politics of EU Citizenship in France: Everyday Security and Resistance. Journal of Common Market Studies, 50(3), 475-491.
Parker O (2009) Cosmopolitan Europe' and the EU-Turkey question: The politics of a 'common destiny. Journal of European Public Policy, 16(7), 1085-1101.
Parker O (2009) Why EU, Which EU? Habermas and the Ethics of Postnational Politics in Europe. Constellations, 16(3), 392-409.
Parker O (2008) Challenging 'new constitutionalism' in the EU: French resistance, 'social europe' and 'soft' governance. New Political Economy, 13(4), 397-417.
Parker O & Brassett J (2005) Contingent borders, ambiguous ethics: Migrants in (international) political theory. International Studies Quarterly, 49(2), 233-254.
Parker O () Teaching the European Union in Brexit Britain. Journal of Contemporary European Research, 18(2).

Chapters

Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 9. Maastricht and Amsterdam (the Late 1980s to the Late 1990s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 154-171). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 8. The Revival of European Integration (the Mid-1970s to the Late 1980s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 137-153). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 7. The First Years of the European Economic Community (the 1960s and into the 1970s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 123-136). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 6. The ‘Other’ European Communities and the Origins of the European Economic Community (the Early 1950s to the 1960s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 107-122). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 5. From the End of the War to the Schuman Plan (the Late 1940s to the Early 1950s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 89-106). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 4. Critical Perspectives, Politics in the European Union (pp. 66-86). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 3. Theorizing Consequences, Politics in the European Union (pp. 45-65). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 26. Enlargement, Politics in the European Union (pp. 495-515). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 25. Common Foreign and Security Policy, Politics in the European Union (pp. 476-494). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 23. Freedom, Security, and Justice, Politics in the European Union (pp. 431-455). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 22. Environment and Climate, Politics in the European Union (pp. 414-430). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 11. The EU in Crisis (2009–19), Politics in the European Union (pp. 186-202). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 10. From Amsterdam to Lisbon (2000–09), Politics in the European Union (pp. 172-185). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 1. Theories of European Integration, Politics in the European Union (pp. 5-22). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 20. Economic and Monetary Union, Politics in the European Union (pp. 379-398). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 2. Theories of EU Governance, Politics in the European Union (pp. 23-45). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 19. The Single Market, Politics in the European Union (pp. 360-378). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 18. Policy Making and Policies in the European Union, Politics in the European Union (pp. 337-359). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 17. Organized Interests, Politics in the European Union (pp. 316-332). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 16. The Court of Justice of the European Union, Politics in the European Union (pp. 298-315). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 15. The European Parliament, Politics in the European Union (pp. 278-297). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 14. The European Council and the Council of the European Union (EU), Politics in the European Union (pp. 257-277). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 13. The European Commission, Politics in the European Union (pp. 238-256). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 12. The Institutional Architecture, Politics in the European Union (pp. 205-237). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 21. Agriculture, Politics in the European Union (pp. 399-413). Oxford University Press
Bulmer S, Parker O, Bache I, George S & Burns C (2020) 24. Trade and Development Aid, Politics in the European Union (pp. 456-475). Oxford University Press
Parker O & Tsarouhas D (2018) Conclusion, Crisis in the Eurozone Periphery (pp. 203-211). Springer International Publishing
Parker O & Tsarouhas D (2018) Causes and Consequences of Crisis in the Eurozone Periphery, Crisis in the Eurozone Periphery (pp. 1-27). Springer International Publishing
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 9. Maastricht and Amsterdam (the Late 1980s to the Late 1990s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 150-167). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 8. The Revival of European Integration (the Mid-1970s to the Late 1980s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 133-149). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 7. The First Years of the European Economic Community (the 1960s and into the 1970s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 119-132). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 6. The ‘Other’ European Communities and the Origins of the European Economic Community (the Early 1950s to the 1960s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 103-118). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 5. From the End of the War to the Schuman Plan (the late 1940s to the early 1950s), Politics in the European Union (pp. 85-102). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 4. Critical Perspectives, Politics in the European Union (pp. 63-82). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 3. Theorizing Consequences, Politics in the European Union (pp. 44-62). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 17. Organized Interests, Politics in the European Union (pp. 308-326). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 16. The European Court of Justice, Politics in the European Union (pp. 290-307). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 15. The European Parliament, Politics in the European Union (pp. 270-289). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 14. The European Council and the Council of Ministers, Politics in the European Union (pp. 249-269). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 13. The European Commission, Politics in the European Union (pp. 231-248). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 12. The Institutional Architecture, Politics in the European Union (pp. 199-230). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 11. The EU in Crisis (2009–), Politics in the European Union (pp. 182-196). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 10. From Amsterdam to Lisbon (2000–2009), Politics in the European Union (pp. 168-181). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 1. Theories of European Integration, Politics in the European Union (pp. 5-23). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 27. Enlargement, Politics in the European Union (pp. 514-536). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 26. Common Foreign and Security Policy, Politics in the European Union (pp. 494-513). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 25. Trade and Development Aid, Politics in the European Union (pp. 475-493). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 24. Freedom, Security, and Justice, Politics in the European Union (pp. 451-474). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 22. Cohesion Policy, Politics in the European Union (pp. 405-431). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 21. Economic and Monetary Union, Politics in the European Union (pp. 385-404). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 20. The Single Market, Politics in the European Union (pp. 367-384). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 2. Theories of EU Governance, Politics in the European Union (pp. 24-43). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 19. Agriculture, Politics in the European Union (pp. 351-366). Oxford University Press
Bache I, Bulmer S, George S & Parker O (2014) 18. Policies and Policy Making in the European Union, Politics in the European Union (pp. 331-350). Oxford University Press
(2012) A Foucauldian perspective on the ethics of EU(rope): genealogies of liberal government, Globalisation and European Integration (pp. 94-112). Routledge
() Globalisation and European Integration In Nousios P, Overbeek H & Tsolakis A (Ed.) Routledge

Research group

To date, I have as principal supervisor successfully supervised one PhD to successful completion and a number of others as second supervisor.

I would be interested in supervising students working on European politics, particularly those with an interest in:

the political economy of migration in Europe
the politics of EU citizenship and free movement
the political economy of the EU
comparative European political economy
social or progressive futures for the EU
the politics and political economy of Brexit.

Teaching activities

I currently teach and lead the undergraduate modules POL206, The Politics and Government of the EU, and POL3109, Britain and the EU. The first of these considers the history of European integration and key theories for explaining integration before turning to consider contemporary issues such as the Eurozone crisis, the migration crisis, the democratic deficit, Brexit and possible dis-integration. The second considers the UK’s historically difficult relationship with the EU, with a significant portion of the module focused, of course, on contemporary issues pertaining to Brexit.

While the EU is often regarded and portrayed as a highly technocratic and bureaucratic (read boring!) entity, I have always sought in my teaching to emphasise its political, economic and social relevance – whether adjudged as good and bad -- for the everyday lives of European citizens and those beyond Europe’s borders. I do this by frequently using archival and multi-media resources and setting up debates and role-plays in the classroom.

I have also invited external speakers to come and talk to my classes: Linda McAvan MEP has, for instance, delivered extra classes with me in recent years. Above all, I aim to create a friendly learning environment, where all feel comfortable to participate.

I have previously taught the MA module POL6001, Europeanisation, and at my former institution, the University of Warwick, I taught modules on the EU at undergraduate level and International Political Economy at MA level.

I co-author a leading Oxford University Press textbook on EU politics, Politics in the European Union, with colleagues at Sheffield, I have published on teaching the EU in the Journal of Common Market Studies and in 2016 I was invited to deliver the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) keynote lecture at the Political Studies Association (PSA) teaching conference.