Grace Cooper

Research

Title of Research:

The Enfranchised: Political exclusion and the parliamentary representation of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK Parliament. 

Brief overview of research topic:

My research looks at how the processes of representation occur within the UK Parliament. It applies social network analysis to understand how the system works and what mechanisms are encouraging the positive representation of refugees in parliament. This thesis seeks to highlight how MPs can make a more positive contribution to the political discourse surrounding refugees despite the hostile and exclusionary practices of the state. The primary contribution of this research is to conceptualise  parliamentary representation as a network. Representation is primarily a series of relationships between principles and actors, where the actors perform representative acts on their behalf. This thesis highlights how individual representative actors interact within this network, which allows for greater understanding of how the process of representation occurs in parliament. My thesis seeks to identify who are the key actors and what are the inputs and outputs of the representative process which produces representation of refugees.