MSc Graduates
The Department of Political Science has graduated several cohorts from its MSc programmes. Below you can find the student names and the titles of their research dissertation. In addition, reflections from some of our MSc alumni can be found on the graduate testimonials webpage.
2012 Graduates – M Sc in International Politics
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Breffney Kate Cogan |
Lobbying Regulation in Ireland: Delays and Incentives 1999-2012 |
| George Colley |
The Effect of Military Structure on Regime Survival in The Middle East |
| Thomas Edward Corcoran |
Restraining the TRIPS Agreement; Protecting Health Rights in the developing world |
| Elif Dibek |
System Structure and State Behaviour: Turkey's Middle Eastern Activism in the 21st Century |
| Heather Dunbar |
Live and Learn: Measuring the Effects Learning has on Target Response to Challenges |
| Jane Dundon |
Strategy Choices: How Political Context Affects Human Rights Promotion: A comparative case analysis of Amnesty International's work in Kenya and Zimbabwe |
| Colin Gleeson |
Intervention in Genocide: Establishing the necessary conditions |
| Peter Gogarty |
Arming to Keep Peace? Reassessing the Determinants of Peacekeeping Deployment after Civil Wars |
| Kevin Groome |
India's Aid Policy and Economic Engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Justin Thomas Howell |
Humanitarian Intervention: Inductive Theories for Inducing Peace |
| Tessy Huss |
High Finance and High Politics: Foreign Policy Determinants of International Bank Lending to Developing Countries |
| Cecile Jacquet |
Science and Environmental Policy Shaping A quantitative assessment of the epistemic community explanation |
| James Johnson |
The Efficacy of Multiple Track Mediation in Intrastate Conflict |
| Joseph Kiernan |
Where Norms Dare to Go: Assessing the Impact of National Human Rights Institutes in the Middle East and North Africa: A Case Study of the Eqyptian National Human Rights Council |
| Vasilia Kyriacou |
The influence of the internet and communication technology on the breaking out of protests and rebellions in the Arab World |
| Oscar Long |
The High Costs of International Human Rights Treaty Ratification for the United States of America |
| Jacob Maddaus |
United States Influence in post-9/11 Pakistan: Fact or Façade? |
| Ophelie Martin |
Do France and Germany rule the European Union? A case study of the 2005 and 2011 reforms of the Stability and Growth Pact and theoretical assessment of decision-making in the Council of the European Union |
| Daniel Murphy |
The Effect of Insecurity on the Process of DDR |
| Meadhbh Aine O'Flaherty |
A Framework of Decision-Making in Crisis Situations |
| Anne-Marie Pollock |
Poles Apart: Europe's Tilt to the Right |
Back to Top
2012 Graduates – M Sc in Political Science
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Cillian Doyle |
From Russian with Votes: An Analysis of the Voting Behaviour of Russian Jewish Immigrants in the Israeli National Elections 1992-2009 |
| Fionn Jenkinson |
Strategic Interactions between the Irish Supreme Court and Legislature: Do they Exist and to what Extent are the affected by Transparency |
| Martin Mannion |
The Political Determinants of Lottery Funded Capital Sports Grants |
| Catherine Power Ward |
Citizenship Rules: Jus Soli, Jus Sanguinis or a Combination of Both? |
Back to Top
2011 Graduates – M Sc in International Politics
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Marzia Baldasssari |
The relationship between democracy and human rights revisited. |
| Christopher Boylan |
Blood Politics: The Importance of Family Ties in Dail Elections Evidence from the 2002 Election |
| Ciara Finlay |
Can the UN approval provide the legitimacy to the U.S. military intervention and make it succeed? |
| Emily Glen |
Liberal Autocracies and the Supply of Free Trade: The Ratification of Preferential Trade Agreements in Non-Democratic Regimes |
| Trygve Gronbekk |
"Domestic constraints: the European non-aligned states’ military contributions to ISAF". |
| James Michael Frank Hagen |
Explaining the Parliamentary success of Far-Right Parties in Scandinavia: A Look at Sweden in relation to Denmark and Norway. |
| Kathleen Clare Harris |
In the Spotlight: The Impact of Media Human Rights Coverage on US Development & Military Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa, 1990- 2008 |
| Vanessa Hiry |
Capacity Constraints as Bargaining Advantage for Developing Countries in the WTO Dispute Settlement Process |
| James Michael Kilcourse |
Foreign Policy Directions in the Post-Soviet Space: Explaining the foreign policy behaviour of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union |
| John Kreienkamp |
Political Freedom and the Roots of Terrorism in Latin America |
| Jorg Lehmann |
Presidential Popularity and the Use of Force |
| Melanie McDonald |
Aid for Change: An Investigation of the Effects of Democratic Aid on Regime Transition in Africa |
| Eimear Murphy |
The Criminalisation of Marital Rape: Explaining Variation in Timing across High Income OECD Countries |
| Alannah Nic Phaidin |
Action- Reaction: China and Indian's Military Capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region, 1980 -2007 |
| David Perry |
Terrorism and Repression in Democratic States: The Explanatory Role of the Characteristics of Terrorist Attacks |
| Joana Racine |
The Effect of Youth Cohort Size on Transitions to Democracy |
| Miguel Rodriguez Marquez |
Political Instability and Progress of Structural Economic Reform in Latin America from 1985 to 1999 |
| Scott Schittl |
Tourism Dependence and the Incidence of Democracy in Low-to-Middle Income States: The Blessing and Curse of Resource Dependence |
| Victoria Walshe |
International Compliance and the Child Soldier: The efficacy of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the child on the involvement of children in armed conflict & the Option of Issue Linkage |
Back to Top
2011 Graduates – M Sc in Comparative European Politics
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Thomas Doyle |
Does Local Authority Have an Approval Affect: An Examination of Europeans’ trust in their Governments. |
| Emma Catherine Harte |
Pledge fulfilment in the 2007-2011 Fianna Fáil-Green Party-Progressive Democrats coalition government in Ireland: left-right differences, coalition performance and mandate theory. |
| Arayik Haryriyan |
Rethinking the Formation of Party Identification |
| Jordan Hollander |
Non, Merci! Nein, Danke! No, Grazie! Na, Engraziel! – Lessons from the 2009 Swiss Referendum to Ban the Construction of Minarets. |
| Eanna Kelly |
Combating the Radica Right: Explaining Variation in RR Electoral Performance with Party Strategy. |
| Courtney Mallon |
Explaining State Commitment to the UN Trafficking Protocol. |
| Robert O'Donoghue |
Creeping Secularisation: Evaluating Variance in the extent to which Irish Citizens Value Religious Beliefs in their Politicians. |
| Linda Oldenburg |
Have anti-European and far right party groups in the European Parliament become more institutionalized over time? |
| Nicole Pomeroy |
An Exploration of the Determinants of Tax Morale in the EU-15. |
| Clarissa Unger |
Examining Turnout through a Compound Lens: The Effects of Social Capital in First and Second-Order Elections. |
| Markus Joakim Wartiovaara |
State Infringement of EU Environmental Law: Can National Constituencies ‘Buy’ Compliance/Violation? |
Back to Top
2010 Graduates – M Sc in Comparative European Politics
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Mark Canavan |
Geographically Targeted Allocation in Capital Health Expenditure in Ireland 1998-2004: Evidence of an Incumbent Electoral Strategy |
| Mark Carpenter |
A Comparative Study of the Effect of Teacher Union Strength on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from Across the OECD |
| Alisha Clancy |
The European Commission’s Influence on European Court of Justice Decision-making: Evidence from Article 267 TFEU Preliminary Reference Procedure |
| David Dancey |
What are the determining factors behind EU military involvement in non-European intrastate wars from 1993 to 2009? |
| Gillian Mary Dunne |
Why does a more viable language policy exist in Catalonia and the Basque Country than in Valencia? |
| Oliver Paul Griffiths |
Explaining the Variation in Voter Support for The British National Party and British ‘Mainstream Parties’: The case of the 2010 British General Election |
| Emily Jean Ledford |
Agricultural Biotechnology: Explaining the Differences between US and EU Policies |
| Martin James Mc Kane |
The Expansion of the U.S. Federation: Theories of State Admission |
| Ita Sarah O Sullivan |
Why Does Turnout At Irish Referendums Regarding The European Union Vary?’ |
| Edwina Love |
Pledge Fulfilment in Ireland from 2007 to 2010 with emphasis on an Environmental Party and the effects of Economic Crisis. |
| Kash Alexander Pontarolo |
Economic Determinants of Net Migration in Ireland: 1968-2008 |
| William Quill |
The effect of transfers in elections and on the political culture in Ireland |
| Diego Scarabelli |
Does economic integration lead to political integration? A comparative study of the Zollverein and the EEC |
| Laura Maria Schwirz |
Reassessing the impact of information on voting behaviour – Counter-hypothesising Lupia's argument on voter competence: How more information led to a vote change at the second Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon |
| Niall Patrick Sherry |
Green Party Support and Success Across Europe: An Analysis of National- and Policy-Level Factors |
| Josephine Amelia Shister |
When David Picks a Fight with Goliath: Why Developing and Least Developed Countries Initiate Disputes with the United States and the European Union Within the WTO |
| Ruairi Brian Vallely |
Retrospective application of the d'Hondt divisor method of sequential portfolio allocation to the coalition executives of the Republic of Ireland, 1948-2007 |
Back to Top
2009 Graduates – M Sc in Comparative European Politics
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Patrick Bourke |
Does the ethnic outbidding model adequately account for the shift in electoral support that occurred in Northern Ireland following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998? |
| Carl Dodd |
Common Security and Defence Policy (Military) Peace-Support Operations – What Best Explains the Variation in Participation by European Union Member States in these Operations? |
| Brian Doyle |
Do Multiple Tier Systems increase the number of parties? |
| Benjamin Alexander Hammer |
Parliamentary Behaviour of German Members of the European Parliament. |
| Brendan Hood |
Electoral Geography and Public Spending: Explaining Regional Variations in the Distribution of the EU’s Structural Funds." |
| Emmet Mac Raghnaill |
Does the Green Party have any effect on government policy: A study of the fulfilment of election pledges on environmental policy in Germany, 2002-2005. |
| Nicholas Mann |
Political Institutions and Development Aid: The Determinants of Tied Aid. |
| Meghan McBride |
Merger Control by the European Commission: Technocratic or Political? |
| Fiona McKeown |
Does a Green Party Minister bring about better compliance with EU Environmental Directives? |
| Natalie Marie Novick |
Do Campaigns Matter? The Contribution of European Union Referendum Campaigns towards Broad Political Knowledge. |
| Oliver-Lew Nikita |
The Role of Information in European Referendums |
| Kali Peterson |
Religious Identity and Church-Government Interaction in Post-Communist Europe. |
| Alice Marie Odile Powell |
British foreign policy in the Maghreb in the 21st century, influenced by EU policy? |
| Kelly Presley |
What influences post-Cold War Security Council elections in Europe: membership to international organizations, state-based resources or past election history? |
| Daniel Schultz |
Strategic Voter Learning: An empirical analysis of the influence of institutional constraints on strategic voting |
| Julian Zabkowski |
Privatisation Abandonment in Poland: Problems and Perspectives for the Macroeconomics of the State. |
Back to Top
Graduates of M.Phil in Political Science
| Name |
Title of Dissertation |
| Tarjinder Gill |
New Labour and devolution in Scotland and Wales, 1994–1997 (2003) |
| Ronan Murphy |
Public funding for Irish political parties: cartelisation or competition? (2005) |
Back to Top