The Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) at the University of Warwick is delighted to announce that Dr Charlotte Heath-Kelly, Reader in Politics and International Studies, has been awarded a €1.5M Starting Grant by the European Research Council in recognition of, and support for, her pioneering research.

Dr Heath-Kelly will investigate how and why national security has become part of the professional duties of healthcare and social security workers in her project, 'Neoliberal Terror: The Radicalisation of Social Policy in Europe'.

Dr Heath-Kelly said: “Across Europe, health and social care workers have been made responsible for identifying and reporting radicalising persons to the security services, even though there exists no scientifically valid method to predict who will become a terrorist.

“There are also no studies which can validate the impact of counter-radicalisation programs on the prevention of terrorist attacks.

“What purpose do these policies serve, if we have no evidence they prevent terrorism? Quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to explore whether neoliberal economic and social policies are responsible for the expansion of counter-radicalisation programs - refocusing the welfare state on preventing 'risks' rather than meeting needs.”

Case study research will take place in the UK, France, Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Croatia with counter-radicalisation teams in health and social care, to better understand their work.

The project will conclude by making a documentary film on the effects of counter-radicalisation referrals on referred persons, medical ethics, and society.

Congratulating Dr Heath-Kelly on her success, Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies, said: “This award not only reflects Charlotte’s brilliance as a leading international researcher in politics and international studies, but also the strength of the University of Warwick’s research infrastructure and the dedicated support of our specialist colleagues who supported and assisted with the application.”