The Centre for Citizenship, Civil Society and Rule of Law (CISRUL) studies life in the world of political concepts. Our interdisciplinary centre examines how political principles function within and beyond the contemporary west. Concepts such as citizenship, civil society, and the rule of law are used as often by policy makers as by scholars. Core to CISRUL’s mission is informing academic and public debate on how they are used, and to what effect.
CISRUL brings together an extraordinary range of researchers, including PhD students, to study these and other political principles, including democracy, human rights and pluralism. We consider how they have been fostered historically, debated philosophically and in politics, fought over by social movements, codified in law, transmitted through education and the media, and lived out in everyday life. You can learn more about our events, past and present, here.
Please click on the dropdown menus below for information about CISRUL and our work:
[expand title=”Alumni”]Our alumni work in a number of different academic posts around the world. You can browse their profiles to learn more about their research interests, publications and where they are now.
Please view their individual profile pages to learn about their projects, and where they are now.
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[expand title=”Who we are”]
Founding members
Current CISRUL faculty
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[expand title=”PhD students”]Our PhD students represent a variety of disciplines, including sociology, law, race studies, international security studies, and history. Browse their individual profiles to learn more about their backgrounds, projects, and unique interdisciplinary contributions to CISRUL.
Neha Dwivedi began her PhD in October 2023, focusing on the discursive construction of the 'right' time in US-Afghan peace negotiations. Her research is supervised by Professor Gearoid Millar, Professor Joanne McEvoy, and Dr Tom Bentley.
Shao-Chi Kuo began his doctoral research in 2022 and joined CISRUL in 2023. Under the supervision of Professor Brian Brock (Divinity), he is researching the political and public theological significance of faith disobedience in Chinese house churches.
Sabelo Ndwandwe started in January 2023. His work under the supervision of Dr Owen Walsh and Professor Tommy J. Curry (Edinburgh) combines philosophy, critical race theory and social history to think about Black Maleness as a peculiar social location of sexual victimization and disposability that remains understudied in [southern] African Studies.
Sam McReavy is a third year PhD candidate, focusing on urban spatial theory and Science Fiction as a pedagogical tool in the work of Henri Lefebvre. His supervisors are Professor Timothy Baker (LLMVC) and Dr Joseph Pierce (the School of Geosciences).
Daisy Mugadza began her PhD in February of 2025. Her subject area is Constitutional Law, and, under the supervision of Dr Erin Ferguson (UoA School of Law and CISRUL) and Dr Robert Taylor (UoA School of Law), she is conducting research surrounding the separation of powers in English public law.
Boglarka Vincze’s PhD project began in October 2024. She researches waves of constitutional change in the UK’s devolved nations, focusing on the evolution of devolution frameworks. Her supervisors are Professor Tamas Gyorfi and Dr Erin Ferguson.
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[expand title=”Postdoctoral Researchers”]
Current postdoctoral researchers at CISRUL
Visiting postdoctoral researchers at CISRUL
Together with Denisse Román, 3 other postdoctoral researchers worked on the 2016-19 ESRC-funded CISRUL project, Activism in Regions of Crime-Related Violence and Institutional Fragility (see our project page for more information).
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[expand title=”Prospective PhD Students”]To learn more about available funding and what opportunities are available to you as a potential PhD student, please click here.
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[expand title=”Visiting Scholars”]
One of CISRUL’s core aims is to engage with scholars throughout the world and across disciplines. To this end, we host visiting scholars throughout our annual seminar series, and we invite at least one prestigious scholar a year to come to Aberdeen and give a series of Guest Lectures. In the past, we have hosted theologian Stanley Hauerwas, political theorist William E. Connolly, and sociologist Jeffrey Alexander.
For more information on our previous visiting scholars and their guest lectures, please see the dropdown menus for this page.
All upcoming visiting scholars will be noted in our Seminar Series schedule for the current year.
International Expert Advisors
The POLITICO International Expert Advisors (IEA) meet annually and review the overall progress of the doctoral programme.
The group will provide expert advice to the STSB to guide and inform the selection and training procedures implemented by the programme.
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