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Biography

Matthew Goodwin is a Research Associate and joined IPEG in February 2007. Previously, Matthew was Temporary Lecturer at the University of Bath. He holds degrees from the University of Salford (B.A. Hons), the University of Western Ontario (M.A. Political Science) and the University of Bath where he completed his PhD in Political Science in June 2007. Matthew was recently awarded an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship which is to commence in April 2009.

Research Interests

• Political behaviour
• The politics of race and immigration
• Extreme right activists, groups, movements and parties
• Research methods in the social sciences

Based on extensive qualitative interviews with political activists Matthew’s doctoral research investigated the motive for active participation in extreme right movements. The research is currently being reworked into a book manuscript. Matthew also has a strong interest in the policy implications of organized extremist activity which continues research he undertook for the UK Home Office (‘Understanding the Role of ‘Racist’ Groups in Community Tension’) and the Young Foundation think-tank (‘Exploring the Drivers of Far Right Support’). Building on such work Matthew is currently co-editing a volume that examines different forms of political and religious extremism and the implications for public policy.

Outside of his own research Matthew is co-reviews editor for the ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy. The Standing Group brings together academics who work on various aspects of extremism and currently has approximately 700 members from 50 different countries. Matthew is also a member of the Democracy, Citizens and Elections Research Network (DCERN). He has also discussed some of the issues above on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC World Service, the radio program Westminster Hour and in publications such as Progress Magazine.

For a full list of Matthew’s academic publications, policy reports and presentations see his curriculum vitae above. Recent published articles and working papers include:

• Goodwin, Matthew J. (2008) Backlash in the ‘hood: support for the British National Party at local level, forthcoming in the special issue ‘The Extreme Right in Contemporary Europe’, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, vol. 16, no.3, pp.349-363
  
  
• Goodwin, Matthew J. (2008) Research, revisionists and the radical right, Politics, vol.28, no.1, pp.33-40
  
  
• Goodwin, Matthew J. (2007) The extreme right in Britain: still an ugly duckling but for how long?, Political Quarterly, vol.78, no.2, pp.241-250
  
  
• Goodwin, Matthew J. (2006) The rise and faults of the internalist perspective in extreme right studies, Representation, vol. 42, no. 4, pp.347-364
  
  

Other research activity

Matthew has also undertaken research for a variety of bodies, including the Department for Communities and Local Government, the North West Improvement Network (NWIN) and local authorities. This research has utilized a range of research methodologies, including structured qualitative interviews and experimental methods. Recent research reports include:

• Goodwin, Matthew., Greasley, Stephen., John, Peter and Richardson, Liz (2008) Can we make environmental citizens? Evaluation of a school-based intervention designed to promote pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours amongst schoolchildren. IPEG Working Paper. University of Manchester: Institute for Political and Economic Governance.
  

  Goodwin, M.J., Greasley, S., John, P. and Richardson, L. (2008) Can we make environmental citizens? Evaluation of a school-based intervention designed to promote pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours amongst schoolchildren. Research report for the North West Improvement Network (NWIN).

  John, Peter., Gains, Francesca., Goodwin, Matthew and Richardson, Liz (2007) Improving the Representativeness of Councillors: Learning from Five High Performing Local Authorities in England. Research Report 4 for Councillors Commission. Department for Communities & Local Government.
  
  
• Goodwin, Matthew and Richardson, Liz (2007) Making better interventions: models of behaviour change. North West Improvement Network/Centre for Local Governance.