Welcome to my website. My name is Dr Matt Broad. I am Assistant Professor (tenured) in History and International Studies at Leiden University, Founding 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.
I work on the history and politics of international relations from 1945 to today. Much of this work is geared towards studying modern Britain and its place in the world: how its governments, parties and diplomats have sought to define the country’s role and, above all, how Britain has wrestled with the question of closer ties with Europe. Rather than treating European integration as an inevitable march towards the European Union, I read Britain’s experience through the competing political projects that have shaped the continent since 1945 – rival visions, awkward partnerships, alternative institutions, candidate states and non-members, and unfinished arguments about sovereignty, democracy and belonging. Seen this way, Britain is not a reluctant bystander to a continental story but one of its central and most revealing actors. This perspective speaks directly to the present: many of the questions facing Britain and the EU today are the latest versions of arguments that have run for decades, and my work places them in context – showing how past choices continue to shape the possibilities and limits of politics now.
I have published widely in this field, including five authored/edited books and numerous articles and chapters in modern British, 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 (of which the UK is very much a part) 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 