David supervises a range of engaged doctoral students working on critical media theory, lobbying, think tanks, Freedom of Information, the Sociology of Corporate Power, intellectuals and power and international politics, especially in relation to war and terrorism. David encourages prospective PhD students to get in touch directly, though he is particularly interested in supervising topics related to the following areas:

Corporate power

Lobbying in the UK, the EU and US
The rise and progress of neoliberalism
Transnational governance and globalisation
Transnational lobby groups
Think tanks and policy planning groups
Science communication
Corporate Social Responsibility
Public Relations industry
The political economy of natural and social scientific knowledge
Corporate influences on school, further and higher education and on academic disciplines
Food industry lobbying and public relations

Globalisation, communication and conflict

Propaganda and government communications: History, theory and practice
Communication and war
Counterinsurgency theory
Psychological Operations/iWar
Terrorism expertise
Neoconservative think tanks and policy groups

Scotland

Sectarianism/Anti Irish racism in Scotland
Corporate influence on the Scottish Government
Lobbying in Scotland

Media, communication and democracy

Freedom of Information, Secrecy and governance
Media influences and impacts
Critical media theory