Professor Michael Kenny

Director at Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge

Share
Professor of Public Policy, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge
Director, Bennett Institute for Public Policy

He is currently a co-director of the British Academy’s “Governing England” programme as well as Visiting Fellow at UCL’s Constitution Unit and sits on the Leverhulme Trust’s Advisory Committee. Professor Michael Kenny is Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. He convenes and teaches on the MPhil in Public Policy, and is the Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, also based at POLIS. He was previously Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary, University of London, and the inaugural Director of the Mile End Institute.

His research interests are primarily in the fields of modern political thought, political ideologies and the role of ideas in public policy. He has also published work on the position of intellectuals in Britain; the history of political science in Anglo-America; the politics of nationhood in the UK; political reform; and the use of the ideas of civil society in international politics. His recent book, The Politics of Nationhood in England: (Oxford University Press, 2014); won the Political Studies Association’s ‘McKenzie’ prize for best book in political studies.

He has a BA from Cambridge, and an MA and PhD from the University of Manchester. Michael has also held positions at Queen’s University, Belfast; and the University of Sheffield, where he was Head of Politics.

  • In news articles

    What form should the government’s levelling up agenda take?

    Levelling up was an amorphous policy pledge in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto. Since then, numerous academics and policy organisations have focused on what ‘levelling up’ means, and how it should be achieved. The upcoming Levelling Up White Paper is expected to specify a precise policy programme for this agenda.

  • In news articles

    Place and policy making: how can local decision-making achieve greater change?

    As part of the Christ's College Climate Seminar Series, we asked: how can we use lessons from the pandemic to strengthen local health institutions and structure a robust care system that works for everyone?