Professional Activities
Degrees
DLitt. (Doctor of Letters) (2015), University of Oxford.
PhD. (1985) and M.A. (1981) in Political Science, Northwestern University.
Recipient of the David Minar dissertation Award.
B.A. Moderatorship (Honours) in Political and Social Science (1979), Trinity College Dublin.
First Class Honours (1979). Bastable Prize (co-recipient) for top placing in Final Honours School.
Selected fellowships and distinctions
Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected 2017
Member, Academy of Europe/Academia Europaea (MAE), elected 2016
Fellow, Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), elected 2015.
Member (Honorary), the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA), elected 2015.
Research Visitor(by invitation), Max Planck-Sciences Po Centre, Sciences Po, Paris, September 2014.
President (by election),Politics & History Section of American Political Science Association, 2012-13.
Fellow, (by invitation)Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice, NYU School of Law 2013-2014.
Academician/Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), invited 2013.
Choice “Oustanding Academic Book” 2012 for Still a House Divided: Race and Politics in Obama’s America with Rogers M Smith, Princeton UP.
Major Research Fellowship, Leverhulme Trust 2005-2008 (3 year buy-out).
Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), elected 2003.
Centre Fellowship, Centre for Advanced Studies in the Behavioural Sciences. Stanford University. Awarded February 1993 (not taken up).
Research
- Comparative Government
- Public Policy
- Racial inequality in the US
- American political development and state building
- Illiberal social policy
- Comparative welfare policy
Teaching
I am glad to discussion supervision with potential students in these areas: racial and ethnic inequality, especially in the US; American political development, especially in respect to state building, executive politics and domestic policy issues; comparative political economy, including welfare and labour market policy.
