About

Welcome to my site. I am an Assistant Professor I (Professorial Track) in Comparative Politics & International Relations, in the School of Arts & Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU). I am the Programme Leader (Head) of the Politics & Public Administration Programme at HKMU. I am also a Research Fellow in the Public & Social Policy Research Centre at HKMU. 

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I am a currently a Senior Research Fellow & Head of the Populism Research Unit at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right. I am also a Research Fellow (Honorary) in the Global Europe Centre at the University of Kent/Brussels School of International Studies and an Associate Research Fellow at the Center for Research & Social Progress (based in Italy).

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I have extensive managerial and leadership experience at the University level, with a focus on internationalization. Until June 2022, I was a Lecturer in Comparative Politics and Global Studies, alongside being the Head (Chair) of the Undergraduate Admissions & PR Panel in the Department of Government & Public Administration at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (SAR, China). I served on the MPUP (MSSc in Public Policy Programme) Programme Management Committee (ExCo) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I was also the Head (Chair) of the Faculty of Social Sciences Student Discipline Committee and as a Panel Judge for the CUHK University Senate. I have served on the Executive Committee of the International Affairs Research Centre, the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at CUHK.

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I completed my PhD in Comparative Politics (50th Anniversary Research Scholarship) in the School of Politics & International Relations at the University of Kent (UK). I was also a Visiting PhD Scholar at The Brussels School of International Studies, a Visiting Scholar at The European Union Academic Programme Hong Kong and a Visiting PhD Scholar in the Department of Government and Public Administration at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

 

I have obtained Certificates in Advanced Quantitative Methods Training (Quantitative Text Analysis, Machine Learning and Multilevel Modelling) from the Department of Politics & International Relations at the University of Oxford (Oxford Spring School in Advanced Research Methods) alongside a Certificate in Data Science from the Hertie School Data Science Lab. I also hold an MSc in Political Science (Focus on Public Opinion & Polling) and a BA in Politics (Government) with First Class Honours from the Department of Government at the University of Essex (UK).

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I provide regular political analysis on European Politics for CNBC. For Consultancy & Media based enquiries, please contact me at: jamesfdownes1@gmail.com

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You will also find information about my research, teaching and latest media commentaries.