Profile
Dr Phil Parvin is a Reader in Politics at Loughborough University’s East Midlands campus where until 2024 he was Head of International Relations, Politics and History. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought, and an Associate Editor of Res Publica. In academic year 2024-25 Phil will be on research leave, based in the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs (IDIA, formerly IDIG) at Loughborough University’s London campus, and working on his book on political lobbying and democracy.
Academic background
Phil has a BA from the University of Kent, an MA from the University of York, and a PhD from the London School of Economics. Before coming to Loughborough he was a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University. He has also taught at Queen Mary University of London, and the London School of Economics. He has twice been a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (2009 and 2013). In 2018 he was Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, and Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice, Oxford. In addition to his academic posts, he was also a Director at the Hansard Society, and a Research Associate for the think tank Catalyst.
Research
Phil is a political theorist who has published on a range of topics. Most recently, he has worked on the challenges to democratic theory and practice posed by a widespread decline in political participation, participatory inequality, and political lobbying. His work on lobbying has been influential beyond academia, notably among policy makers and professional lobbyists, and has been covered by many major media outlets, including Bloomberg, The Guardian, Times Radio, le Monde, The Conversation, Democratic Audit and politics.co.uk.