Richard completed his Ph.D in International Studies within the school of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University Belfast, under the supervision of Professor Richard English and Dr Peter McLoughlin.
Richard's research examines 21st Century American domestic politics and foreign policy, and how this continues to shape geopolitical events. He is particularly interested in how US diplomacy when led by the State Department affected successful intervention in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Richard won the 2021 Irish Association of American Studies Doctoral Research Prize for his essay – "The State Department's Northern Ireland Special Envoys and the Redemption of the Good Friday Agreement.” The paper has been published in the Irish Journal of American Studies.
Richard is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Ethnic Conflict at Queen's University Belfast.