Nicola McEwen
Nicola McEwen, FRSE is professor of territorial politics at the University of Edinburgh, co-director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, and senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe. She became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021. She leads research on devolution and inter-institutional relations. She provides advice to governments and public bodies and gives media expert perspectives internationally. McEwen's research and insights are sought for public engagement and political or business briefings during major events like the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, and the Smith Commission, UK BREXIT and recent  elections such as to the Scottish Parliament. She has a reputation for being authoritative and trustworthy in engaging with senior politicians, civil service and civic society and has regular media engagements on various topics. McEwen is consulted on aspects such as potential impact on welfare of Scottish independence, or informing parliament on the impact of BREXIT on intra-UK relations and communicating her findings and explanations to public media. Education and career. Graduated with a B.A.(Honours) in politics and philosophy from Strathclyde University in 1992, McEwen took an M.A. in Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario  in 1994, and a Ph.D. in Politics from Sheffield University in 2001. She has been employed at the University of Edinburgh since 2001, starting in the School of Politics as a lecturer, then senior lecturer before taking on the role of Director of Public Policy at the university's Academy of Government in 2012, and Associate Director for Knowledge Exchange and Impact in the School of Social and Political Science to 2016. McEwen headed up the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre on Constitutional Change from 2013 where she is co-director. She is a Professor of Territorial Politics  (from 2014) covering politics and international relations. She is also a Fellow of the Constitution Unit at University College London. Research. McEwen has been Fellow on "Between Two Unions: The Constitutional Future of the Islands after Brexit", a multi-facet programme funded by ESRC to examine the inter-relationships between institutions, constitutional issues, economic union issues and the social impact of the UK leaving the EU. She is Senior Fellow on another major collaborative research into "UK in a Changing Europe ." She is currently leading on a £0.5m research project called "'A Family of Nations? Brexit, Devolution and  the Union". A previous 2017 programme she investigated was on the "Repatriation of Competences and the Implications for Devolution" in the fields of overlapping jurisdictions on agriculture, the environment/energy, and justice & home affairs. More information on McEwen's research is published by the University of Edinburgh. Selected publications. Selected by the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh: Journal articles and book chapters Books and special issues