Jak Allen

As a civil libertarian, I have always been deeply passionate about the promotion and preservation of freedoms by public servants in the Anglo-American sphere. This led me to volunteering in Parliament for my local MP whilst studying in secondary school, as well as my sporadic contributions to online political publications, such as The BackBencher. As a result, my research interest broadly extends to UK and US constitutional and political issues, both in the present-day and historical context. I also have an interest in all things U.S., from the Founding to the present day.

As part of my research efforts, I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the University of Kent's Christine and Ian Bolt Scholarship, the HOTCUS Travel Award, and EAAS Postgraduate Travel Award. All of these contributed to a six week trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 2017 where I undertook research at Harvard Law School.

The themes of my PhD topic surround judicial power in the US, social issues, and the exercise of restraint for judges. I am looking at partisan-driven and simplified notions of "liberal" and "conservative" judging.

In my free time, my greatest passion is playing football. I also previously spent a number of years playing American football, where I even enjoyed a short stint representing England youth.