Professor Gabriel Siles-Brugge
PhD, MA, BA
Expertise
Political economist studying the (de)legitimation of economic policy through ideas, evidence, and expert knowledge. Extensive policy expertise and experience of practitioner engagement in the areas of trade policy and Brexit.
Current positions
Professor in Global Governance & Public Policy
School for Policy Studies
Contact
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Biography
Gabriel Siles-Brügge is Professor in Global Governance & Public Policy in the School for Policy Studies. He is one of the Editors-in-Chief of the leading EU Studies publication JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies and sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of Policy & Politics and the Editorial Board of Bristol University Press.
Gabriel joined the School in 2023 from the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, having previously worked at the Universities of Manchester and Oxford Brookes. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Sheffield.
Gabriel has been a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for EU Studies at Ghent University (Nov-Dec 2014), in the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen (Feb-Jul 2015), and in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa (May-Jun 2022).
Gabriel works at the intersection of public policy, EU Studies and International Political Economy. He has established an international reputation for his research on the (de)legitimation of economic policy through ideas, evidence, and expertise. He is particularly known for his unique constructivist and critical perspective on trade policymaking. His new research agenda is focused on exploring 'submerged' social movement activism, municipal contestation, and the politics of evidence at the WTO.
His policy expertise and commitment to social justice in the area of international trade has seen him work with a wide range of NGOs, trade unions, and parliamentary bodies on trade policy matters. Between 2017-19 he was one of the very first Parliamentary Academic Fellows to advise the UK Parliament with the International Trade Committee, serving again as a specialist adviser to this Committee over 2021-22. Gabriel was also a Policy Advisor on Trade Policy to the European Public Health Alliance (2016-2024).
Gabriel joined the School in 2023 from the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, having previously worked at the Universities of Manchester and Oxford Brookes. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Sheffield.
Gabriel has been a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for EU Studies at Ghent University (Nov-Dec 2014), in the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen (Feb-Jul 2015), and in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa (May-Jun 2022).
Gabriel works at the intersection of public policy, EU Studies and International Political Economy. He has established an international reputation for his research on the (de)legitimation of economic policy through ideas, evidence, and expertise. He is particularly known for his unique constructivist and critical perspective on trade policymaking. His new research agenda is focused on exploring 'submerged' social movement activism, municipal contestation, and the politics of evidence at the WTO.
His policy expertise and commitment to social justice in the area of international trade has seen him work with a wide range of NGOs, trade unions, and parliamentary bodies on trade policy matters. Between 2017-19 he was one of the very first Parliamentary Academic Fellows to advise the UK Parliament with the International Trade Committee, serving again as a specialist adviser to this Committee over 2021-22. Gabriel was also a Policy Advisor on Trade Policy to the European Public Health Alliance (2016-2024).
Research interests
Gabriel Siles-Brügge has extensively researched the politics of trade and investment negotiations, the role of economic ideas and quantification in policymaking and civil society contestation of economic integration (including the role of frames and emotions).
His current research is focused on the following:
- emotions, performance, and the spatial politics of EU and UK trade policy;
- regulatory chill and the global governance of trade and health;
- varieties of municipal contestation, where local governments challenge the policies of higher authorities;
- 'submerged' activism in the global justice movement.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Contested EU Foreign Policy in an Era of Geopolitics (EUFOG)
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
The doctoral network EUFOG will contribute to a better understanding of the ways in which the EU is reconsidering key tenets of its international role in the face of the…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/12/2024 to 30/11/2028
Navigating Trade Challenge at the World Trade Organization to Prevent Non-Communicable Diseases and Promote Better Health for All
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
The UK government is considering a range of policies to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. These policies involve regulating the food, tobacco, and alcohol…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/07/2023 to 30/06/2026
Jean Monnet Network on Transatlantic Trade Politics
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
An Erasmus+ funded research network studying the transatlantic politics of trade. It is focused on four thematic areas:
1. The politicisation of trade relations.
2. Transatlantic trade and global trade challenges.
3. The…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/09/2020 to 05/08/2024
Publications
Recent publications
09/08/2022The dynamics of municipal contestation: responses from local government to perceived policy threats from higher authorities
Policy and Politics
Reflections on the Present and Future of European Studies: Expanding our Understanding of EUrope
Journal of Common Market Studies
Rethinking the Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in Trade Politics
New Political Economy
“Global Britain” and “post-geography"
Baltic Rim Economies
Brexit and trade policy: an analysis of the governance of UK trade policy and what it means for health and social justice
Globalization and Health
Teaching
Gabriel's teaching experience cuts across public policy and EU policymaking, global governance, and International Political Economy, where he has sought to highlight the politics behind supposedly neutral and technocratic decision-making processes.
His teaching philosophy is based on four pillars:
1. A commitment to research-based teaching excellence, connecting teaching to cutting edge debates, empirical findings, and methods.
2. Seeing students as ‘creators’ and not just ‘consumers’ of knowledge. This means centring teaching on inquiry-based learning and encouraging students to bridge the perceived gap between theory and empirics.
3. Emphasising the wider societal relevance of higher education, helping students appreciate the relevance of the knowledge and skills they are acquiring for their future careers.
4. Recognising the diversity of learning needs, styles and academic viewpoints in teaching. This includes a commitment to de-colonising the curriculum and embedding perspectives that have been traditionally marginalised in the discipline of public policy.
In 2024-25, Gabriel is teaching on the Master's in Public Policy (MPP) units 'Governance, Institutions and the Global Political Economy' (SPOLM1073) and 'Public Management and Organisations' (SPOLM1074). In addition, he is the Programme Director for the MPP programme.
His teaching philosophy is based on four pillars:
1. A commitment to research-based teaching excellence, connecting teaching to cutting edge debates, empirical findings, and methods.
2. Seeing students as ‘creators’ and not just ‘consumers’ of knowledge. This means centring teaching on inquiry-based learning and encouraging students to bridge the perceived gap between theory and empirics.
3. Emphasising the wider societal relevance of higher education, helping students appreciate the relevance of the knowledge and skills they are acquiring for their future careers.
4. Recognising the diversity of learning needs, styles and academic viewpoints in teaching. This includes a commitment to de-colonising the curriculum and embedding perspectives that have been traditionally marginalised in the discipline of public policy.
In 2024-25, Gabriel is teaching on the Master's in Public Policy (MPP) units 'Governance, Institutions and the Global Political Economy' (SPOLM1073) and 'Public Management and Organisations' (SPOLM1074). In addition, he is the Programme Director for the MPP programme.
