I am the Bingham Fellow in Constitutional Studies at Balliol College. I also teach at the Department for Politics and International Relations (DPIR) at Oxford. My work spans Irish, British, and European constitutional politics, comparative politics, and public policy, and is primarily focused on the politics of Northern Ireland. This includes the shifting political positions of Northern Ireland’s parties concerning European integration and ongoing debates over Northern Ireland’s constitutional future.
Prior to Oxford, I worked at the UCL Constitution Unit between 2019 and 2024 as a Research Assistant and Project Manager. My first project at the Constitution Unit was with the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland. This was followed by a second project entitled 'Perspectives on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland', and a third entitled 'Reform of Stormont: Options for Discussion'.
Between 2022 and 2024, I taught on UCL’s undergraduate 'British Politics' and 'Politics of the European Union' modules. In 2023/24 academic year I also worked as a Guest Teacher at the LSE on their 'British Government' module. At the DPIR and Balliol, I teach the undergraduate papers 'Introduction to Politics', 'British Politics and Government since 1900', 'Modern British Government and Politics', and 'Comparative Government'.
I have a PhD from Birkbeck College, University of London. I also have a BA from the University of Galway (National University of Ireland), an MA from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and an MRes from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Publications
Articles
- Kelly, Conor J. (2024). The Multi-Level Implications of a Sinn Féin Government in Ireland. The Political Quarterly, 96:1, January–March 2025, pp. 173–179
- Kelly, Conor J. and Alan Whysall (2024). The Restoration of Stormont and the Need for Reform. Fortnight, 493, pp. 11–13.
- Kelly, Conor J. and Etain Tannam (2023). The UK Government’s Northern Ireland Policy After Brexit: A Retreat to Unilateralism and Muscular Unionism. The Journal of European Public Policy, 30:11, pp. 2275–2302.
- Kelly, Conor J. and Etain Tannam (2023). The Future of Northern Ireland: The Role of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement Institutions. The Political Quarterly, 94:1, January–March 2023, pp. 85–94.
- Renwick, Alan, Nadia Dobrianska, Conor J. Kelly, and Charlotte Kincaid (2022). Public Attitudes to Referendums on Irish Unification in Northern Ireland: Evidence from an Online Consultation. Irish Political Studies, 38:4, pp. 413–437.
- Tannam, Etain and Conor J. Kelly (2022). Brexit and the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement’s Three Strands. Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland, 17, pp. 90–101.
- Kelly, Conor J. (2021). Teaching and Learning in Brussels: Sinn Féin’s Strategic ‘Venue Shopping’ Approach in the European Parliament. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 25:1, pp. 139–155.
- Renwick, Alan and Conor J. Kelly (2021). What Form Would Referendums on Irish Unification Take? The Political Quarterly, 92:4, October–December 2021, pp. 682–690.
Reports
- Kelly, Conor J., Alan Renwick, and Alan Whysall (2025). Reform of Stormont: Options for Discussion. The Constitution Unit.
- Renwick, Alan and Conor J. Kelly (2023). Perspectives on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement: Examining Diverse Views, 1998–2023. The Constitution Unit.
- Final Report of the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland (2021). The Constitution Unit. [Credited as the Working Group’s Project Manager and Research Assistant].
- Interim Report of the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland (2020). The Constitution Unit. [Credited as the Working Group’s Project Manager and Research Assistant].
Parliamentary Evidence
- Kelly, C.J., Renwick, A., Whysall, A. (2025). Written evidence to the Assembly and Executive Review Committee on reform of Northern Ireland’s political institutions. Northern Ireland Assembly. Discussion of our evidence on the 8th of April 2025 can be seen by clicking here.
- Renwick, A., Kelly, C.J. (2022). Written evidence to the ‘Inquiry into the Effectiveness of the Institutions of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, House of Commons, December 2022.