Steven Hurst

I am Section Head of Politics, Deputy Head of the History Research Centre and Research Coordinator for History and Politics. I am also Programme Leader for the MA in International Relations and Global Communications and Year 2 Politics subject tutor for Combined Honours. I have been at MMU since 1993, where my teaching has focused primarily on American government and politics and American foreign policy (post-1945).

I have always worked in the field of US Foreign Policy but in the last decade I have focused specifically on US policy toward the Middle East. My research is often driven by contemporary issues (the US invasion of Iraq or the crisis over the Iranian nuclear programme) but with the objective of placing recent events in a proper historical and theoretical context. By tracing the origins of current crises and applying relevant theories it becomes possible to develop a deeper understanding of events.

I am currently working on a study of US policy toward the Iranian nuclear programme and I am also conducting research on the impact of partisan polarisation on US foreign policy with my colleague Andy Wroe at the University of Kent.