My name is Dr Matt Broad, and I work on the history of international relations since 1945, with a particular emphasis on the history and politics of Europe from the Cold War to the present. I am Assistant Professor (tenured) in History and International Studies at Leiden University, Director of the Centre for the History of European Integration (CHEI), co-convenor of the Cold War Research Network (CWRN), a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
My research focuses on European integration, British foreign policy, enlargement and the competing visions of Europe that have shaped, and continue to shape, the continent since the Second World War. Rather than treating European integration as an inevitable march towards the European Union, I study Europe as a field of competing political projects: rival visions, awkward partners, alternative institutions, candidate states, non-members and unfinished arguments about sovereignty, democracy and belonging. This historical perspective speaks directly to contemporary European politics: many of the questions facing the EU today are the latest versions of arguments that have shaped the continent for decades. My work places those debates in context, showing how past choices continue to shape the possibilities and limits of European politics in the present.
I have published widely in this field, including five authored or edited books and numerous articles and chapters in modern European, international and diplomatic history – see the publications tab for more details. My research has been supported by substantial external funding, including from the European Commission, AHRC, and British Academy worth around €300,000 to date – see the grants/prizes tab for more details. These awards have supported individual research, international collaboration, teaching innovation and wider academic network-building.
Leadership and education are also central to my work. I am an award-winning teacher of the MA International Relations (MAIR) and BA International Studies (BAIS) programmes. I also currently chair the MAIR Programme Committee (OLC), a major programme-management role involving curriculum development, quality assurance, and staff-student consultation. In this capacity, I help ensure that the programme remains intellectually coherent, well-run, responsive to student needs and connected to current debates in international relations and European politics.
In short, I study the making of modern Europe from 1945 to the present – and I work to build the research, teaching and institutional structures that help others understand why that history still matters.
Dr. Matthew Broad 