Dr Christopher Huggins

Dr Christopher Huggins
Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Academic Programmes, University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education

Biography

I am Director of Academic Programmes and Associate Professor in European Politics. My main area of interest is in the politics of the European Union and the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, and this is reflected in both my research and my teaching. I have a strong passion for teaching, not only leading courses at University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) in European Union politics and the UK-EU relationship, but also in promoting and researching effective political education.

As Director of Academic Programmes in PACE I have strategic oversight over all of the learning and teaching we undertake. My role is to ensure that our learning and teaching offer is accessible, inclusive and of the highest quality, that our courses meet the needs of our diverse range of part-time learners, and that our students feel part of a supportive learning and teaching community.

I was a awarded a PhD from the University of Portsmouth in 2015, and before joining the team at PACE I held positions at Keele University, the University of Aberdeen, the University of the West of Scotland and the University of Suffolk. I hold HEA Fellowship and am a member of the Universities Association for Contemporary European Studies and the Political Studies Association. I am also a co-editor of the journal Contemporary European Politics.

Research topics

My research background is in the politics of the European Union and the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom. I have focused particularly on the impact of the EU on local and regional government, and on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, most recently completing a project on post-Brexit fisheries policy governance funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. I am also interested in the pedagogy of European politics, how politics as a field of study is promoted and valued and how active learning approaches can be used to enhance the effectiveness of teaching in politics.

Publications

Books

  • Gravey, V., & Huggins, C. (Eds.) (2024). Teaching European Union Politics (pp. 2–13). Edward Elgar., 2024

Book chapters

  • Huggins, C., & Gravey, V. (2024). Teaching and learning European politics in a time of crisis. In V. Gravey, & C. Huggins (Eds.) Teaching European Union Politics (pp. 2–13). Edward Elgar., 2024
  • Huggins, C. (2024). Field trips and experiential learning in European Union politics. In V. Gravey, & C. Huggins (Eds.) Teaching European Union Politics (pp. 197–211). Edward Elgar., 2024
  • Van der Zwet, A., Connolly, J., Huggins, C., & McAngus, C. (2022). Brexit and the Common Fisheries Policy: opportunities for multi-level differentiated (dis)integration? In B. Leruth, S. Gänzle, & J. Trondal (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Differentiation in the European Union (pp. 310–324). Routledge., 2022
  • Flinders, M., & Huggins, C. (2020). Modes of state governance, populist pressures and public sector reform. In J. Connolly, & A. van der Zwet (eds.), Public value management, governance and reform in Britain (pp. 87–114). Palgrave Macmillan., 2020

Journal articles

  • Van der Zwet, A., Connolly, J., Huggins, C., & McAngus, C. (2023). Network resilience and EU Fisheries Policy Engagement in third countries: lessons for post-Brexit governance. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 25(1), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481211067146, 2023
  • Connolly, J., van der Zwet, A., Huggins, C., & McAngus, C. (2022). The governance capacities of Brexit from a Scottish perspective: the case of fisheries policy. Public Policy and Administration, 37(3), 342–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952076720936328, 2022

Courses Taught