The School of Government and Public Policy has four broad areas of research strength:

Elections and representation: With a specialist Centre for Elections and Representation Studies, the School studies voting behaviour, political attitudes and political behaviour. It has particular interests in political institutions and public opinion, political representation, participatory democracy, campaigns and elections, political communication, electoral systems, media and politics, and party activism.

Public policy: With two specialist centres (the European Policies Research Centre and the Centre for the Study of Public Policy), the School analyses policy formation, learning, transfer and effectiveness at Scotland, UK and EU levels. Specific expertise on policies for regional development, energy, environment, security, welfare and migration, and Chinese foreign policy.

Governance and Institutions: Scotland, UK, European and youth parliaments, European institutions, multi-level government and devolution and the politics of nationalism and regionalism. Expertise exists on theories of social movements and social change, Scottish and EU identity, state-society relations in the EU, civil society, religion and politics, environmental politics.

International politics: West European and South-East European politics. International politics, including international public policy, international institutions and global governance, international security, Asian international politics and security, the international role of NGOs, anti-globalisation movements, constructivist theories of security, feminist theory and Chilean politics.