Kate Dommett

Kate is lecturer in the Public Understanding of Politics and Deputy Director of the newly created Sir Bernard Crick Centre within the Department for Politics at the University of Sheffield. This is the worlds first research centre for the study and promotion of the public understanding of politics (for more see:www.crickcentre.org). Within the Centre Kate leads a research strand on Political Institutions and Democratic Reform, and has developed training courses for practitioners and academics designed to promote and enhance political engagement.

Kate previously worked at Sheffield as a Research Fellow on the ESRC funded project Shrinking the State. She completed her doctorate in 2012 which explored ideology, processes of ideological change and modernisation in relation to contemporary political parties.

Research interests

My research focuses on the intersection between ideas and institutions and examines political power, participation and political ideology. Contemporary democratic societies face an array of political challenges, be that declining participation, the convergence of political ideas, or the collapse of governing orthodoxies, which all have powerful implications for how citizens perceive and engage in politics. This poses a series of fascinating problems around how politicians can govern effectively, how they can re-engage the public, and how they shape the future direction of political debate. Such questions inspire my pursuit of a diverse and yet interlocking research agenda which explores the position of political parties and ideology, the dynamics of democratic governance and public administration, and the challenges of democratic engagement and participation. This agenda is underpinned by a personal belief in the importance of applied politics, and inspires a teaching and research agenda which challenges prevalent ideas and practices, linking theory and practice to address enduring social problems. In advancing these agendas I am interested in entwining my studies of political parties and participation. I am particularly interested in exploring new, international innovations designed to re-invigorate traditional democratic institutions such as parties.

Selection of publications

Dommett, K. (2015) The theory and practice of party modernisation: The conservative party under David Cameron, 20052015, British Politics, Online Early View: DOI: 10.1057/bp.2015.21.

Dommett, K. and Skelcher, C. (2015) The Micro-Politics of Agency Survival: A Strategic-Relational Analysis of Quango Reform in UK Government, International Public Management Journal, forthcoming.

Dommett, K. (2014) Ideological Quietism? Ideology and Party Politics in Britain, Online Early View, DOI:10.1111/1467-9248.12160.

Dommett. K, (2014), Rhetoric and Party Politics: Looking Beyond the Leader in Atkins. J, Finlayson. A, Martin. J, and Turnbull. N (eds.), Rhetoric in British Politics and Society, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.73-86.

Dommett. K, Clown Prince or Party Saviour? Exploring the Oratory of Boris Johnson in R. Hayton and A. Crines (eds.) Orators in Conservative Party Politics, Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp.166-181.

Dommett, K. and Flinders, M. (2015) The Centre Strikes Back: Meta-Governance, Delegation, and the Core Executive in the United Kingdom 20110-2014, Public Administration, Volume 93(1): 1-16.

Dommett, K. and Flinders, M. (2014) The Politics of Quangocide, Policy and Politics, Volume 43(1): 3-25.

Dommett, K. and Flinders, M. (2014) The Politics and Management of Public Expectations: Gaps, Vacuums and the 2012 Mayoral Referenda, British Politics, Volume 9(1): 29-50.