Catherine Owen
Associate Prof of International Relations, Uni of Exeter. Researches participation, governance, knowledge production, Eurasia. Cyclist. Junglist. Tea obsessive. Constantly restless. Green 🌱
- Reposted by Catherine OwenPlease spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem. Thank you. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Catherine Owen“We conclude that a major legacy of pandemic governance in China is a more powerful system of grassroots bureaucracy capable of the microgovernance of citizens’ private lives.”
- My latest article with Xuan Qin at Fudan Uni is online at The China Journal! Our research evidences the lasting transformations in China's grassroots bureaucracy wrought by 3 years of zero-COVID, in which biosecurity enhanced & deepened political security. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
- My latest article with Xuan Qin at Fudan Uni is online at The China Journal! Our research evidences the lasting transformations in China's grassroots bureaucracy wrought by 3 years of zero-COVID, in which biosecurity enhanced & deepened political security. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
- Listen to my awesome colleague @xiananj.bsky.social talk about our up-coming @komex.bsky.social methods course - one week left to register for the early bird fee!!!
- The instructors of "Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Contexts", @xiananj.bsky.social & @catherineowen.bsky.social bring extensive ethnographic fieldwork experience from around the world, grounding the course in real-world research practice. 📽️ Watch to learn more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ohn...
- Reposted by Catherine OwenWe will either end fossil fuel dependency and the predatory extractivist basis of global production, or they will end us through wars and ecological collapse - all at the same time.
- Relatable. And increasingly difficult to avoid with the proliferation of photogaphers at conferences and requests from journals to make short videos of one’s recently published articles. No thanks!
- Pre-Christian pagan traditions in West Cornwall, UK. Penzance celebrates “Montol”, the shortest day of the year. From tomorrow, the light starts creeping back in! The future is bright, at least in some respects..
- Important article by Gerhard Hoffstaedter that resonates with my own experience: eastasiaforum.org/2025/10/11/t... "As Western area studies decline, policy risks being driven more by domestic perceptions than regional expertise. We risk losing soft power, cultural diplomacy and mutual understanding"
- Very happy to have a chapter with @beverleyloke.bsky.social in this meticulously curated volume, "Knowledge and Expertise in International Politics: A Handbook" - just out! global.oup.com/academic/pro... Our piece provides a contextually sensitive account of IR knowledge production hierarchies.
- Two more days to apply for our @ecpr.bsky.social Joint Sessions workshop, 'Rethinking "Regimes": Critical Reflections on an Under-Theorised Concept', co-organised with Gianni Del Panta (Pavia) & Licia Cianetti (Birmingham) ecpr.eu/Events/Event... Come spend 5 days deliberating with us in Innsbruck!
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThis is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started
- Looking forward to next week's discussion of @jheathershaw.bsky.social's excellent and important book, Indulging Kleptocracy, co-authored with Tena Prelec and Tom Mayne, at @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social!
- R.I.P. Mani - bassist in the two best bands in the world. Thank you for the music 🎶🎸🪨🌹
- Reposted by Catherine Owen⚙️ #ecprjs26 Workshop directors 🎬 @catherineowen.bsky.social & Gianni Del Panta 💡 Seeks Papers that move beyond the notion that political regimes are self-contained, internally homogeneous, and functionally equivalent units ⌛ Submit by 10 Dec buff.ly/df1Bz8S #Polisky #CallforPapers
- Reposted by Catherine Owen„Im Unterschied zur Abwägung bei den Bürgern ist es allerdings nicht nur eine der privaten Moral, wenn sich die deutsche Polizei von der Software der Firma Palantir abhängig macht oder Rheinmetall Marschflugkörper bei Anduril kauft."
- An utterly incredible story! International scientific cooperation, overcoming geopolitical divides, heroic bravery and profound male friendship. It feels like this kind of intense collaboration in search of knowledge for humanity, not nations, would hardly happen today www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
- Just watched this in Redruth. Such an important film. Thank you for coming to Cornwall!
- THE LINE WE CROSSED is screening at The Regal Cinema in #Redruth on 11 Nov @ 7:30 followed by a Q&A. With the recent mass arrests of peaceful protesters holding cardboard signs this film has become even more timely and urgent. 🎟️ bit.ly/TLWC-Redruth #Cornwall #RightToProtest
- Reposted by Catherine OwenWell this is awful news: tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx 'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.' Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.
- Join me, Gianni Del Panta and Licia Cianetti for the ECPR Joint Sessions at the Uni of Innsbruck, where we'll be hosting a workshop entitled "Rethinking Regimes: Critical Reflections on an Under-theorised Concept". Details here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... Can't wait to get stuck into the discussions!🤓
- Incredible! A Great Blue (I think?) heron calmly surveys its kingdom - a small pond next to a busy London high street. Is it lost, or has to chosen to live here?
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThe costs of the UK’s Global Talent Visa looks a trifle high in comparison to competitor countries - largely through the Immigration Health Surcharge (which critics say is a form of double taxation as they contribute to the NHS through normal tax on their earnings)
- It’s fantastic to be back in Shanghai for the 23rd Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, at the invitation of Shanghai International Studies University. Our section, organised by Prof Yang Cheng, explores global trends in the study of Eurasia.
- "Ultimately, area studies allows us to embrace, even revel in, cultural, social and linguistic particularity and specificity and, through understanding these differences, recognize our shared humanity." An important article. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
- Reposted by Catherine OwenInterested in authoritarian, post-conflict, or surveilled settings? 📍 Join “Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Contexts” #KOMEX2026 online course by @catherineowen.bsky.social & @xiananj.bsky.social. Learn creative, experimental, and decolonial ethnogr. methods: afww.uni-konstanz.de/en/microcred...
- Reposted by Catherine OwenChina ‘spies’ case was dropped after government failed to provide evidence of Beijing threat
- Reposted by Catherine OwenIf you can't see how this will end, then you're not paying attention (not least to what's going on on the other side of the Atlantic).
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThe success of the far right is not only measured in votes and seats but in its impact on rhetoric, policy and ideology. The fact that a (nominally) social democratic head of government with a huge majority choses to say and do this is maybe the biggest success of the far right in Europe yet.
- Reposted by Catherine OwenProud to share that #KOMEX2026 Qual & Case-Oriented Techniques track is taught entirely by women researchers from across Europe and beyond! 🌍 ✔️ Rigorous training in fieldwork, process tracing, NVivo & more 📅 February 2026, @uni-konstanz.de & online Join: afww.uni-konstanz.de/en/view/kome...
- This programme has been a brilliant educational resourse to supplement course readings. I’m so glad it will continue, but Melvyn Bragg will be a very tough act to follow.
- A huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThe original title: “China Studies in the UK Is in Crisis — But Not Because of China”
- Excellent response from Prof Zeng Jinghan (formerly University of Lancaster) to the recent report on the ‘crisis’ in China Studies inthe UK. Right on the nail. www.scmp.com/opinion/worl...
- Reposted by Catherine OwenAnother day, yet ANOTHER stupid, pointless announcement on immigration from this stupid pointless government. Today: you are a student - we're going to write you a stern letter about how you better not be thinking of staying! Insanity. Racist, cowardly, insanity. #r4today
- Reposted by Catherine OwenFirst article on our Rural Racism reports, released this morning @jayrayner1.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Breath-taking landscapes on Exmoor this weekend 🤩
- Reposted by Catherine OwenWe're lucky to have @catherineowen.bsky.social & @xiananj.bsky.social on board at #KOMEX2026. Check out their online course "Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Contexts" and register here: afww.uni-konstanz.de/en/microcred...
- Excited to be offering our bespoke fieldwork methods course "Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Contexts" with @xiananj.bsky.social for @komex.bsky.social next February, alongside a truly fantastic line-up of courses - with something for every methodological persuasion!
- Excited to be offering our bespoke fieldwork methods course "Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Contexts" with @xiananj.bsky.social for @komex.bsky.social next February, alongside a truly fantastic line-up of courses - with something for every methodological persuasion!
- Registration is NOW OPEN for #KOMEX2026 ✨ Excellence. Affordability. No flights. In-person @uni-konstanz.de or online via #ekomex Learn from top scholars in: 🧠 R, Python, NVivo, QCA, Process Tracing, ML, SNA & more 🗓️ Feb 2026 🔗 Join: afww.uni-konstanz.de/en/komex/kon... @methodsnet.bsky.social
- Reposted by Catherine OwenReform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?
- On Friday, my two-year visiting professorship at the Institute of International & Area Studies, Tsinghua Uni, came to an end. It was an utter privilege to teach the introductory Area Studies course to new PhD students. Happy memories to cherish and so many new connections to take forward🌹
- “The Chinese and British peoples stood shoulder to shoulder, united by sacrifice and a shared belief in freedom and justice.” Lovely words and an important reminder from China’s ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang.
- Reminds me of the book I recently finished: Red Friends by John Sexton. An utterly riveting account of the commited internationalists from around the world who helped China fight Japan and build socialism, including numerous Japanese people and groups. 💯Recommend!
- Glorious morning for an 8am Gylly beach sea swim. Water is clear as glass, and the beach is still peaceful with morning swimmers and dog walkers. #Cornwall #Falmouth
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThink gender is just theory or women's issues? Think again. 🌊 Study Gender Studies in Cornwall @hass-cornwall.bsky.social and explore how the personal is political and how the unspoken norms shape our lives. Watch our video: youtu.be/dZQJ-TFCNT0?...
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThis was the initial story on the Reuters coverage of Anas' murder. Compare to the new version on the right. The default was to cite the IDF. When they got proper writers in to rewrite the story, we get actual journalism. Reuters' default source was the IDF.
- Love this film
- So proud of my dear friend Ahmad Ali Shah, who has just published his first scholarly work with @criticasianstds.bsky.social, exploring how Pakistani migrant networks sustain their lives and identities in China. An important contribution to the study of South-South migration. doi.org/10.1080/1467...
- Reposted by Catherine OwenOver the next two weeks, we're showcasing the work of our interdisciplinary experts in the University of Exeter’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Cornwall. Today our first video features Prof. Catriona Pennell's work on forgetting. To find out more visit: hass-cornwall.exeter.ac.uk
- My first proper stadium gig. What a spine-tingling, indescribable feeling to stand in a crowd of 90,000 people singing the same lyrics that we all know off by heart #Oasis25
- Reposted by Catherine OwenAdivasi rights advocate Soni Sori said that she has often seen women and children impacted by crackdowns on Maoists. nikita.jain.bsky.social writes:
- Excellent to see so many @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social colleagues at this major conference on the Eastern European and Eurasian region, held once every five years!
- Exeter University was represented by a diverse group of scholars at the XI World Congress of ICCEES, held in London from 21 to 25 July 2025 @katharineh.bsky.social @catherineowen.bsky.social
- Heading to London for ICCEES! Are any BlueSky friends and followers going too? If so, let’s meet up! 🤩
- Back home after an insiring week at the 4th International Tsinghua Area Studies Forum, in which Area Studies scholars from across the world presented their research in thematic panels. A great way to overcome regional silos and identify common patterns and processes - a really excellent conference 🤩
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThe use of the Terrorism Act to proscribe Palestine Action is disproportionate and sets a dangerous precedent.
- Reposted by Catherine OwenI am giving my talk tomorrow afternoon at Exeter.
- Fascinating talk tomorrow @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Dr Kevin Yang (York) explains how a group of leftwing Hong Kong youths—inc. anarchists & Trotskyists—inspired by the 1960s global New Left movement, became politically radicalised in the British colony, organising against colonialism & capitalism
- Reposted by Catherine OwenWhat is a #regime? The answer is not as straightforward as it might seem, but is crucial for understanding how regimes operate and transform. Identifying procedural, actor-centred, and sociological approaches to regimes. @catherineowen.bsky.social #CEDARhttps://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2025.2483418
- Reflecting on last week’s European Society for Central Asian Studies conference in Tashkent and Samarkand last week, and I am reminded of an enduring (if provocative) truth: Area Studies conferences are so much more enriching and enjoyable than disciplinary conferences!
- I’m in Tashkent for the European Society of Central Asian Studies conference, which starts tomorrow! But first I obviously have to sample the incredible fruits, pickles, nuts, samsa, tea, kurut, ayran, corn-on-the-cob in the glorious markets!
- This year's Pushkin House Prize shortlist, introduced by Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, chair of the judging panel. What an incredible selection - I want to read all of them! fivebooks.com/best-books/r... #booksky
- Its so sad to see another UK university cut its foreign language provision, not only for students but also for the local community. As a modern languages graduate myself, I cannot emphasise enough how much learning languages opened up my world. www.change.org/p/stop-cuts-...
- Feeling enuinely emotional listening to the last ever “Now Playing” show with the legend Tom Robinson on Radio 6 Music. Sunday evenings won’t be the same! Thanks for the music, Tom.
- Reposted by Catherine OwenYesterday, we launched the new Exeter Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies. @catherineowen.bsky.social Muireann Maguire, Nelly Bekus, and others organised with excellent external speakers and a display of the wealth of Eurasia expertise at Exeter. www.exeter.ac.uk/research/cen...
- An absolute honour to host @petoandrea.bsky.social at @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social for the launch of Exeter’s new Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies and hear her compelling and urgent talk on how anti-liberal actors use “gender” as symbolic glue to coordinate politics of hate
- Reposted by Catherine OwenWhile the two countries posture for power, it’s the normal, nameless and faceless people who suffer first. If it escalates, it’s only grief. There's no glory in war. De-escalate now. #IndiaPakistanWar #Kashmir www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
- On 22 May we are launching @exeter.ac.uk 's new interdisciplinary Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, with a fantastic line-up of leading scholars of the region! More information about ECEEES here: www.exeter.ac.uk/research/cen... @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @cais-exeter.bsky.social
- Yesterday I saw St Michael’s Mount by boat from its sea-facing side: stunning, gothic and mysterious!
- It’s great to welcome Dr Shi Jing from the Institute of International and Area Studies to our department @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Shi Jing works on the international politics of the Caucasus region - looking forward to many interesting conversations! @xiananj.bsky.social
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThis year we’re adding an exciting new MA in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy to our suite of IR programmes at Exeter. It will be led by the amazing @andreaghiselli.bsky.social and supported by an imminent new hire! Check out our MAs in IR, Security Studies, and Conflict and Development too!
- My first ever PSA conference! Excited 🥳 I’ll be presenting on-going work with Sonia Bussu, in which we compare participatory budgeting across regime types.
- 🚨 #PSA25 starts *TODAY* Our 75th international annual conference. Looking forward to welcoming 900+ people to #Birmingham for 3 days of #politicalstudies #research, exchange, networking and more. buff.ly/guCqqar
- Reposted by Catherine OwenGreat article! Straight into the syllabus!
- Delighted to share my latest article, entitled "What is a Regime? Three Definitions and their Implications for the Future of Regime Studies", co-authored with Licia Cianetti and Gianni Del Panta, published open access today in @democratization.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Catherine OwenCAIS member Cat Owen charting a new path in the study of regimes. Congratulations!
- Delighted to share my latest article, entitled "What is a Regime? Three Definitions and their Implications for the Future of Regime Studies", co-authored with Licia Cianetti and Gianni Del Panta, published open access today in @democratization.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Catherine OwenThis is a nice @democratization.bsky.social piece co-authored by @cais-exeter.bsky.social @catherineowen.bsky.social. I think my work is at the intersection of actor-centred & sociological approaches to regimes. The actors & their social context are transnational. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- Delighted to share my latest article, entitled "What is a Regime? Three Definitions and their Implications for the Future of Regime Studies", co-authored with Licia Cianetti and Gianni Del Panta, published open access today in @democratization.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- We coded 196 articles containing "regime" in the title in 5 leading PolSci journals to capture three ways in which the term is used: a procedural, an actor-centred, and a sociological approach. While each has advantages and shortcomings, we encourage more reflective use of this key political term.
- We worked so hard on this piece! It is so great to finally see it out in the world!😍 @hass-cornwall.bsky.social @cais-exeter.bsky.social
- Primal Scream, live at Bristol Beacon 31st March. The soundtrack to my 20s - still brilliant and electrifying after so many years 🤩
