Graham Smith

I am Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in the Department of Politics and International Relations.

My main research interests are in democratic theory and practice (particularly participatory democratic institutions), climate politics and the third sector/social economy.

Previously I was Professor of Politics and Head of Department at the University of Southampton, where I worked from 1999 to 2012, and Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde from 1997. My first degree is in Chemistry, my Masters in Environmental Science, my PhD in green political theory. It's a long story!

I am currently involved in a number of funded research projects, including Scholio (University of Connecticut), Citizens' Assembly on Brexit (ESRC), Participedia (SSHRC) and AssoDem (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness).

I am Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam and Honarary Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. In 2010 I was a Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence and in the Fall 2013, Senior Visiting Scholar on the Democracy Program at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School. I was recently appointed as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the RSA.

Outside of academia, I am Chair of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (FDSD).