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Dr. Karen Maria Devine

Dr. Karen Devine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Spanish (University College, Dublin) a Masters of Arts in European Integration (University of Limerick) a Postgraduate Diploma in Statistics (University of Dublin, Trinity College) and graduated with a PhD in Political Science from University of Dublin, Trinity College. Dr. Devine is a Lecturer in International Relations, specialising in teaching European Union politics, Irish Foreign Policy and Gender, Race, Class and Politics. Dr. Devine is a former Chevening Scholar, Government of Ireland Scholar, and Fulbright Scholar. She publishes in top globally-ranked ISI Political Science and International Relations journals, including a co-edited special issue of Cooperation and Conflict, Swiss Political Science Review (Special Issue), International Politics, International Political Science Review, Irish Political Studies (Special Issue), New Zealand International Review (Special Issue) and Irish Studies in International Affairs. Her research interests focus on the politics of neutrality in Ireland, Austria, Malta, and in so-called 'former neutrals' and small states in the European Union, public opinion on foreign policy in Europe and the United States of America, the evolution of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, the use of epistemethodological pluralism incorporating postpositivist and positivist approaches in IR and the development of critical social constructivist theory. Dr. Devine has made over 130 contributions to the media in Ireland and abroad. She has published a series of public service articles on Irish active, positive neutrality in the Irish Times newspaper, contributed to the Sunday Business Post newspaper and a number of international newspapers (e.g. The Times of London, The Financial Times); has appeared on RTE PrimeTime and The Week in Politics television programmes,The Late Debate, and other RTE news radio programmes and a number of local Irish and international radio shows to discuss aspects of European Union politics and US electoral politics. She is interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of European Union (EU) politics and public opinion on foreign policy. She has supervised three PhD students to graduation. Dr. Devine's current research examines the impact of patriotism on public attitudes to foreign policy in the USA and Ireland, following from a Fulbright Scholar visit at Columbia University in the City of New York, USA and a book on Irish Foreign Policy focusing on neutrality, values and identities.

Research Interests

Public Opinion and Foreign Policy in the USA and Europe; Neutrality; European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy/European Security and Defence Policy; Small State Foreign Policy; Gendered Violence in domestic and international contexts; Epistemethodological Pluralism: Combining 'Positivist' and 'Postpositivist' Methodologies; Critical Constructivist IR Theory; Poststructuralist Feminist Theory; Postcolonial Theory.

Teaching Interests

My teaching load includes the following BA, MA and PhD level modules at DCU:

PHD
Research Methodologies (PhD) Module Code LG603
International Relations Theories (PhD) Module Code LG601

MA
Irish Foreign Policy (MA) Module Code LG525
Development of the European Union (MA) Module Code LG572
Research Methodologies (MA) Module Code LG528
Research Methods (MA) Module Code LG556
Contemporary Issues & Practice in International Politics (MA) LG593
Global Governance (MA) LG553

BA
Issues in European Integration: Policy and Politics (BA Final Year) Module Code LG345
Introduction to European Integration (BA First Year) Module Code LG104
EU Politics and Policy (BA Second Year) Module Code LG313
Key Issues in International Relations: Theory & Methods (BA Final Year) Module Code LG329
International Relations: Core Skills and Methods (BA First Year) Module Code LG122

I have previously taught at
the University of Aberdeen and the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in the 1990s and 2000s respectively.

Each Module is based on or draws upon my Research Interests:Public Opinion on Foreign and Domestic Policies
Gendered Public Policies: Domestic and Foreign Policies
European Security and Defence Policy
Neutrality of European Small States
Patriotism as a Driver of US Foreign Policy
Integrating Positivist and PostPositivist Research Methodologies
Critical Qualitative Research Methodologies
Quantitative Formal and Statistical Models
Epistemethodological Pluralism
Critical Constructivist Theory
Poststructuralist Feminist Theory
Elite Socialization Theory
Rational Public Hypothesis
Identity as a Variable in Foreign Policy













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