Dr Rachel Minto

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

My research background is in EU politics and governance, with a particular focus on gender equality. Drawing on this, I now address questions surrounding Brexit and its implications for the politics and governance of a post-devolution UK. 

My current research projects explore the following areas:

- Gender equality governance across the UK post-Brexit;

- UK sub-state paradiplomacy towards the EU;

- Inter-governmental relations in the UK post-Brexit. 

Teaching

I am currently convening the following modules:

• EU Politics (Year 2);
• Politics and Governance of Brexit (Year 3).
• Cooperation and Integration in Europe: Themes and Debates (Masters)

I also teach regularly on the first year module, Introduction to Government, and on the postgraduate module, Contemporary Welsh Politics.

I have contributed to the following Undergraduate modules in the School of Law and Politics: Introduction to European Integration; Politics and Policies of the EU; Gender, Sex and Death in Global Politics; Legal Foundations ; Public Law; Law of the Internal Market; EU Substantive Law .

I have contributed to the following Postgraduate modules in the School of Law and Politics: European Law and Governance; Multilateralism and International Law; Constitutionalism and Governance.

I have also given guest lectures in the School of Social Sciences and the Business School.

My teaching has covered the following topics: various aspects of the politics, law and governance of the European Union; Brexit; post-devolution UK politics and governance; non-discrimination and equality; gender equality politics and governance.

I am also an External Examiner for Queen Mary University of London (from 2022).

Biography

I completed my Ph.D. in Politics at the University of Bristol in 2012, funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council. Entitled "Gender mainstreaming in the European Union's Coordination of Immigrant Integration", my Ph.D. research analysed and evaluated the interpretation of gender mainstreaming in the EU.    This included three months working as an intern at the European Women's Lobby Secretariat in Brussels.

I have worked as Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS) (2012), as well as compiling the online resources for students and lecturers to accompany the two most recent editions of the higher education textbook European Union Politics (3rd edition, 2010 and 4th edition, 2013 ), edited by Michelle Cini and Nieves Pérez-Solórzano Borragán (published by Oxford University Press).  I have also worked as a Researcher (intern) for the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bristol (2011-12), focusing particularly on the internationalisation of higher education and research.

I have been an active member of the Wales Governance Centre since October 2016 where I began research into the evolving EU-UK relationship and UK devolved politics. Prior to joining the Wales Governance Centre, I was based in the Centre for European Law and Governancea as a Research Associate (2013-2016) on the project "Law, Science and Interests in European Policy-making" (LASI), an interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Research Council (PI: Prof. Stijn Smismans).  As part of this project, I focused on horizontal governance practices, specifically the Commission's Integrated Impact Assessment, policy evaluation and mainstreaming. I also undertook some sector-specific work for the project, focusing on processes of participation and the use of different types of expertise within European employment policy; including the creation and use of employment indicators.

Qualifications: B.Sc. Physics (University of Birmingham); M.A. European Studies (European Research Institute, University of Birmingham); M.Sc. Social Science Research Methods (University of Bristol); Ph.D. Politics (University of Bristol).

Academic positions

From August 2023: Senior Lecturer in Politics, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University

From November 2019: Lecturer in Politics, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University

May to November 2019: Research Fellow (Brexit and UK devolved politics), Wales Governance Centre, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University

October 2016 to April 2019: Research Associate Fellow (Brexit and UK devolved politics), Wales Governance Centre, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University

January 2013 to September 2016: Research Associate, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University

Speaking engagements

A selection of recent engagements:

·        25 October 2023: Keynote lecture on "Scotland and Wales in Europe" at the inaugural ceremony of the 2023-24 Masters in International Relations of Local Actors and Governments at the University of Guadalajara. Lecture available here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&mibextid=K8Wfd2&ref=watch_permalink&v=1210835633205937 xxx

·        27-29 June 2023, Council for European Studies conference, University of Iceland, Gender and Sexuality Research Network, “Europeanising Regional equality agendas: Feminist civil society in the UK pre- and post-Brexit” with Dr Paul Copeland  

·        6 June 2023: “Intergovernmental Relations within the United Kingdom: On state-form, sovereignty and Brexit”, paper with Prof. Richard Wyn Jones at the Wales Governance Centre and University of Liverpool workshop on “Post-Brexit Governance of the UK’s Territorial Constitution”, University of Liverpool

·        June 2023: Guest on the programme, “Min Al Mamlaka; Brexit Repercussions on Wales”, developed and presented by Rihan Young as part of a series on the UK. Aired on Al Mayadeen TV in June 2023. Available on YouTube in English and Arabic here: https://youtu.be/b4efzpgELVw and https://youtu.be/Hv-QoS_opkU

·        24 April 2023: Seminar on Gender Mainstreaming in the EU, with Prof. Anna Elomäki, invited by the Jean Monnet Chair on Feminist Epistemic Justice in the EU and Beyond (FEJUST), Bahçeşehir University, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Istanbul/Turkey

·        21 April 2023: Panel member for IACES and UACES seminar, ‘“Taking Back Control”: the UK’s Constitutional Narrative and Devolution’ with Prof. Nicole McEwen, Dr Lisa Claire Whitten and Prof. David Phinnemore. 

·        8 February 2023: Guest in Centre for Migration Studies, University of British Columbia Podcast on Gender equality and Migration, “If Not Gender Mainstreaming, Then What?: Gender Equality and Migrant Integration in the EU”, Available here: https://migration.ubc.ca/programs-initiatives/podcast/episode-22-if-not-gender-mainstreaming-then-what-gender-equality-and-migrant-integration-in-the-eu/ 

Committees and reviewing

From January 2023: Deputy Director of Research Funding

From July 2023: Member of the School’s Research Funding Task and Finish Group

From 2019 to 2021: Member of School’s Extenuating Circumstances Committee (Y2 Politics)

From 2015 to 2020: Member of School’s Research Committee

-          Current Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Representative

-          Former Research Staff Representative

From 2013 to 2020: Member of School’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

-          Former Research Staff Representative

2018: Member of the School’s Research Environment Sub-Committee

2014-2015: School representative on Cardiff University Research Staff Association (CURSA)

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

• Gender equality politics and governance
• Brexit and EU-UK relations
• Brexit and devolution