Who am I? Why am I doing this? Where is this going?

Welcome to the blog! I’m surprised you’re here.

Who Am I?

To briefly introduce myself, my name is Robert Culligan.  I’m a 24 year old student from London (UK). I am a Politics and International Relations Graduate of The University of Aberdeen and I’m currently studying International Affairs at King’s College, London.

Over the past few years, I’ve been involved in a number of projects inside/outside the political realm. I’ve helped organise several TEDx Events, I’ve worked at The UN, and I was – very briefly – a street fundraiser for Amnesty International (A story for another day). Most importantly, however, I ran for local council in 2014 as a member of The Conservative Party (although I’m not a member of the party anymore).

Outside of politics, I enjoy cooking, spending time with my girlfriend, playing Kerbal Space Program, and travelling.

Why am I doing this?

Britain has been going through seismic shifts of the last few years. It has become increasingly apparent that I have come to define myself by what I’m not. Brexit has been a time of great strife. Political Allegiances have changed and we find ourselves within a new status quo. Within this new status quo, we’re constantly confronted by many groups/individuals that claim to have all the answers. Naturally, I tend to react to these claims with skepticism. However, I think I’ve found a certain level of comfort in tearing down the ideas of others whilst not really standing for anything, myself. As a student of politics, I believe that we’re taught to treat those who seek power with a level of suspicion. In this regard, I’d like this blog to be a means of introspection. I’d like to give myself the opportunity to share my ideas have the opportunity to receive some push back.

On top of this, I’ve come to realise over the last year that I haven’t had too many opportunities to experiment with and develop my writing ability.

Where is this going?

Overall, there are a variety of directions I’d like to take the blog. I’d like to discuss some of the national political issues of our day (Brexit, The House of Commons, British Socio-Political Change etc.), but I also want to branch out into discussions surrounding the international arena, as well as topics I in my MA.

Please feel free to engage with me. I’d love to hear your perspective.

All the best,

Robert