Dr
Michael
Breen
Academic biography
Sabbatical leave, academic year 2023/24.
Dr. Michael Breen is an Associate Professor in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. His research interests include international political economy, the politics of international organisations, and the political economy of corruption.
His work has been published in leading academic journals, including International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Common Market Studies, European Union Politics, and the European Journal of International Relations. He is the author of The Politics of IMF Lending, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and a co-author of Resilient Reporting: Media Coverage of Irish Elections Since 1969, (Manchester University Press, 2019). He is the recipient of awards from the Irish Research Council and the Political Studies Association of Ireland and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
He is Co-Director of DCU’s Anti-Corruption Research Centre (ARC) and the Irish Local Research Correspondent on Corruption for the European Commission's DG Home Affairs. He is a member of Transparency International's expert advisory network. He has held visiting fellowships at the European University Institute and the University of Warwick. From 2016-18, he completed a two-year term as a member of the Royal Irish Academy's International Affairs Committee. He was a board member and then Secretary of the Political Studies Association of Ireland (2013-5).
He has supervised many PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to completion and welcomes applications from prospective students and researchers interested in international relations, international political economy, corruption studies, and international organisations.
Research interests
International Relations; International Political Economy; International Organisations; Corruption Studies
I am currently engaged in developing two distinct research strands.
The first strand investigates the impact of international organizations on global financial stability. To advance this area, I have published several significant studies on the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) role in the global economy. Currently, I am researching the governance of its early warning system for detecting financial crises. In addition, I am exploring international economic policy coordination within the Group of Seven (G7). Lastly, I am examining the representation of international organizations in public life, encompassing media and public opinion.
The second strand of my research delves into the political economy of corruption. In order to advance this area, I co-founded and currently co-direct the Anti-Corruption Research Centre (ARC) at DCU, alongside Dr Robert Gillanders of DCU's Business School. ARC's mission encompasses advancing knowledge on the causes and consequences of corruption, as well as supporting the development of innovative anti-corruption policies and initiatives. Within the framework of ARC's work and my own personal research, I have published many studies on corruption in public life. These projects have focused on topics such as water governance, natural disasters, regulation, gender, economic reform, and press freedom. Furthermore, I serve as an advisor to the European Commission on corruption-related developments in Ireland.