Professor Edward Morgan-Jones

Edward Morgan-Jones joined the School of Politics and International Relations at Kent in 2009 and was appointed to a full Professorship in 2023. He served as Divisional Director of Graduate Studies in the Division of Human and Social Sciences from 2020 to 2023, and has been Deputy Head of the School of Economics, Politics and International Relations since 2024. Professor Morgan-Jones received his DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford in 2004 and before joining the School was Research Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Keble College, University of Oxford.

His research focuses on the origins, effects and legitimacy of political institutions across a range of democratic contexts. Combining institutional analysis with citizen perspectives, his projects have explored constitutional choice, democratic accountability and representation, cabinet formation and survival, and the role of executives in early election calling.
Recent research uses survey experiments to examine citizen perspectives on post-conflict institution building, peace settlements and border design. He is co-investigator on the ORA-ESRC funded Inclusive Peace Project (£1.4m), an international collaboration investigating the origins and legitimacy of inclusive political institutions in post-war contexts, and on the ERC funded Peace Return Project (€2.5m), which examines the conditions under which conflict-displaced migrants choose to return home.
His research has been published in the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly and the Journal of Peace Research among other outlets. He has also published a book entitled ‘Constitutional Bargaining in Russia 1990-1993: Institutions and Uncertainty’. Edward regularly presents his work to the policy community and comments in the media. 

Edward teaches widely across undergraduate and post-graduate levels, on modules related to political institutions, comparative analysis and research design.

Supervision Topics:

Edward has a strong supervisory record, having taken seven PhD students to completion and received the University of Kent Graduate School's Prize for Research Supervision in 2019. His students have published in leading journals including Electoral Studies, the European Journal of Political Research and the Journal of Peace Research, and pursued careers in academia and public service.

He welcomes students interested in political institutions — constitutions, parties, electoral systems, executives and legislatures — as well as post-conflict topics including peace settlements, border institutions and post-conflict citizen attitudes.

Current research students

Adam Fagg. Power-Sharing and Democracy in South Africa. 

Yassmine Tlass. Syrian security, authoritarian resilience, and post-war transition

Past research students

Theresa Bachmann (2024) How Does Citizen Participation Shape Peace Agreement Implementation? The Case of Colombia

Daniel Belling (2020) The Politics of Fiscal Monitoring

Robert Nagel (2019) Gendered Influences on Conflict Resolution in Intrastate Conflicts

Emir Kulov (2019) Party Institutionalization in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan: Between Political Uncertainty and the Logic of Electoral Mobilization

Dee Goddard (2019) The Appointment of Women to Ministerial Positions Across Europe: Presence, Portfolios and Policy

James Downes (2017) Explaining Centre Right Party Success in an era of Populism

Ian Rowe (2015) Participation and Deliberation in Network Publics: The Case of Social Media Sites

Member of the American Political Science Association and the European Political Science Society.