2026 Paul Cairney: Political Science Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Political Science	56	152	132	19	16	331	14081

Research.com Recognitions

2023 - Research.com Political Science in United Kingdom Leader Award
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, United Kingdom
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, United Kingdom
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, United Kingdom

Overview

Paul Cairney is a researcher affiliated with the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom. Their work focuses primarily on the social sciences, with significant contributions to political science and international relations, as well as health professions. Among their main subfields of study are management science and operations research, sociology and political science, and organizational behavior and human resource management.

Their research addresses several key topics, including social policy and reform studies, policy transfer and learning, health policy implementation science, evaluation and performance assessment, global public health policies and epidemiology, sustainability and climate change governance, and public policy and administration research.

Frequent collaborators in their research include Sean Kippin, Emily St Denny, Christopher M. Weible, Heather Mitchell, and John Boswell. Their publication record shows a consistent presence in venues such as Open Research Europe, Policy Sciences, Evidence & Policy, British Politics, and Policy Design and Practice.

Recent papers demonstrate an engagement with timely issues related to public health and policymaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable among them are:

COVID-19 and the policy sciences: initial reactions and perspectives, 2020, Policy Sciences
COVID-19: effective policymaking depends on trust in experts, politicians, and the public, 2020, Policy Design and Practice
The UK government's COVID-19 policy: assessing evidence-informed policy analysis in real time, 2020, British Politics
What works to promote research-policy engagement?, 2022, Evidence & Policy
The myth of 'evidence-based policymaking' in a decentred state, 2020, Public Policy and Administration

Paul Cairney has contributed to book publications through Bristol University Press eBooks, with works including Politics and Policy Making in the UK published in 2023.

They have been recognized as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom, reflecting their standing within the academic community.

Best Publications

Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues

Paul Alexander Cairney

1060
Citations
COVID-19 and the policy sciences: initial reactions and perspectives.

Christopher M. Weible;Daniel Nohrstedt;Paul Cairney;David P. Carter

553
Citations
Complexity Theory in Political Science and Public Policy

Paul Cairney

456
Citations
Kingdon's Multiple Streams Approach: What Is the Empirical Impact of this Universal Theory?

Paul Cairney;Michael D. Jones

456
Citations
Evidence-based policymaking is not like evidence-based medicine, so how far should you go to bridge the divide between evidence and policy?

Paul Cairney;Kathryn Oliver

395
Citations
Never the twain shall meet? - a comparison of implementation science and policy implementation research

Per Nilsen;Christian Ståhl;Kerstin Roback;Paul Cairney

363
Citations
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: How Do We Combine the Insights of Multiple Theories in Public Policy Studies?

Paul Cairney

332
Citations
The Politics of Evidence-Based Policy Making

Paul Cairney

295
Citations
To Bridge the Divide between Evidence and Policy: Reduce Ambiguity as Much as Uncertainty

Paul Cairney;Kathryn Oliver;Adam Wellstead

271
Citations
The dos and don’ts of influencing policy: a systematic review of advice to academics

Kathryn Oliver;Paul Cairney

242
Citations
Three habits of successful policy entrepreneurs

Paul Cairney

190
Citations
Handbook on complexity and public policy

Robert Geyer;Paul Cairney

189
Citations
How to communicate effectively with policymakers: combine insights from psychology and policy studies

Paul Cairney;Richard Kwiatkowski

182
Citations
The role of ideas in policy transfer: the case of UK smoking bans since devolution

Paul Cairney

167
Citations
COVID-19: effective policymaking depends on trust in experts, politicians, and the public

Paul Cairney;Adam Wellstead

166
Citations
The Professionalisation of MPs: Refining the 'Politics-Facilitating' Explanation

Paul Alexander Cairney

163
Citations
Global Tobacco Control: Power, Policy, Governance and Transfer

Paul Alexander Cairney;Donley Studlar;Hadii Mamudu

160
Citations
A 'Multiple Lenses' Approach to Policy Change: the Case of Tobacco Policy in the UK

Paul Alexander Cairney

146
Citations
Territorial Policy Communities and Devolution in the UK

Michael Keating;Paul Cairney;Eve Hepburn

146
Citations
Opening up the black box of adaptation decision-making

Robbert Biesbroek;Johann Dupuis;Andrew Jordan;Adam Wellstead

127
Citations
Comparison of Theories of the Policy Process

Tanya Heikkila;Paul Cairney

106
Citations
How Should Academics Engage in Policymaking to Achieve Impact

Paul Cairney;Kathryn Oliver

79
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Donley T. Studlar West Virginia University

Karin Ingold University of Bern

Christopher M. Weible University of Colorado Denver

Manuel Fischer Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

Tanya Heikkila University of Colorado Denver

William A. Maloney Newcastle University

Per Nilsen Linköping University

Katherine E. Smith University of Strathclyde

Michael Howlett Simon Fraser University

Jeremy Rayner University of Saskatchewan

External Links

Personal website of Paul Cairney

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