Professor Michelle Cini
B.A.(Kent), M.Sc.(Lond.), Ph.D.(Exon.)
Expertise
My research is primarily on the politics and policy-making of the European Union, focusing on areas including the politics of the European Commission, EU state aid policy and public ethics and lobbying.
Current positions
Professor of European Politics
School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
I am Professor of European Politics in SPAIS. I have worked at the University of Bristol for over 25 years. I was initially appointed to the University of Bristol in 1991 as Jean Monnet Lecturer in European Community Studies. I became a Senior Lecturer in 2000, a Reader from 2006 and Professor of European Politics in 2008. During that time I have held a number of visiting positions , including at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Grenoble, 1995; the New York Consortium for European Studies (Columbia and NYU), 1998; the Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute, Florence, 1999-2000; the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Lille, 2002; the College of Europe, Bruges, 2003-04; Nanjing University, China, 2007; ULB, Brussels, 2011; and York University, Toronto, 2012. Most recently, I held the Pierre Keller Visiting Professorship at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University (Jan-June 2014). Between 2010 and 2017 I was co-editor of the leading interdisciplinary journal on the European Union, Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS). From 2017-2021 I was Head of School in SPAIS.
Research interests
My research has focused primarily on the internal politics of the European Union, and particularly on the European Commission. I have been especially interested in the politics of reform within the EU, and on issues of organisational and administrative culture. I have increasingly been drawn to research on issues of ethics and integrity. More specifically I have recently been working on a project that looks at how the EU institutions are embedding notions of good (ethical) governance within their structures and procedures during processes of reform. This is being done in order to counter some of the recent criticisms of corruption, mismanagement and fraud that have plagued the European institutions. I am now applying these insights (with Dr N. Perez-Solorzano) to the case of EU lobbying regulation. I have also conducted research on EU public policy, particularly on competition and state aid policy, and on environmental policy.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
The Politics of the UK's post-Brexit Subsidy Regime
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/10/2022 to 30/09/2024
The Politics of the UK's Post-Brexit Subsidy Regime
Principal Investigator
Description
State aid policy was one of the most contentious issues during the UK-EU trade negotiations of 2020. The UKEU
Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed in December that year offered a…Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/10/2022 to 30/09/2024
EU Rule Making in Crises
Role
Collaborator
Description
The rules on the functioning of the EU have been laid down by its Member States (MS) in the EU Treaties. The EU may adopt rules only in accordance with…Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/09/2022 to 30/09/2023
Women and Leadership in the European Union
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/08/2019 to 01/08/2020
Jean Monnet Chair in European Politics
Principal Investigator
Description
The Jean Monnet Chair will identify synergies and build capacity in European Studies at the University of Bristol. The primary aim of the project is for the JMC to create…Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/10/2014 to 30/09/2017
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Selected publications
18/04/2019Institutional change in the European Parliament
Journal of Legislative Studies
Recent publications
15/05/2023Policy entrepreneurs and problem definition
Journal of Public Policy
Ruin and Renewal
English Historical Review
Digital Single Market and the EU Competition Regime
Journal of European Integration
State aid control from a political science perspective
Research Handbook on European State Aid Law
Women and Leadership across the EU institutions: the case of Viviane Reding
Women and Leadership in the EU institutions
Teaching
My teaching interests are primarily in the field of EU politics, the theory and practice of European integration, and comparative European politics. I have also taught research methods to undergraduates in the context of the final year undergraduate Dissertation (Politics). I have taught across all undergraduate levels, at MSc level, and have supervised 13 PhD students to completion. I am particularly interested in finding new ways of engaging students in the study of EU politics, and with Oxford University Press have published, since 1991, one of the leading and most high-profile edited text books on EU Politics.
