Thomas Loughran
Biographic Data
| ID | 4097860 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas Loughran |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas |
| FAMILY NAME | Loughran |
| SIGNATURE | LOUGHRAN T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lancaster University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7306-2227 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 65 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Intuitive deterrence theorists…with feelings? Perceptions of Chinese resolve in a crisis
Recent experimental research has found citizens to be “intuitive deterrence theorists” who judge the resolve of foreign states based on their capabilities, material stakes, past behavior and costly signals. Yet there are good reasons to expect that subjective feelings toward the specific country in question—variables that are difficult to capture in genericized experimental designs—could also condition such judgements. We test this proposition us…
Beyond unionism and nationalism: Do the ‘neithers’ want a border poll and a United Ireland
This article draws upon new data from a recent Economic and Social Research Council funded project, Beyond Unionism and Nationalism, 1 to examine whether electors in Northern Ireland identifying as neither nationalist/republican nor unionist/loyalist, the ‘neithers’, desire a referendum on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status (often labelled a border poll) on whether it should remain part of the UK or form part of a United Ireland and which o…
Young people’s engagement in online research: Challenges and Lessons From Conducting Focus Groups With Young People Online
Online qualitative focus groups are a method which has been increasingly used, especially since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, including in research with young people. Studies have reflected upon the challenges of conducting online qualitative research with young people, often drawing on experiences from the pandemic’s earlier stages [e.g. Smithson et al. Citation2021; Woodrow et al. Citation2021]. This article reflects upon the challeng…
Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle
Consociationalism’s uneven performance has focussed attention on the (possible) end stage of power-sharing systems. Northern Ireland, once lauded a consociational success, is now discussed among consociational failures. We use new public opinion data to assess consociationalism in Northern Ireland from a citizen’s perspective, exploring support for, trust in, and knowledge of power-sharing. We show that public attachment to the principles of powe…
The limits of support for differentiated integration in the European Union as perceived by academic experts
Differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union has recently attracted considerable scholarly and political attention. Yet, we know rather little about where scholars’ normative support of DI begins and where it ends, and whether there is scholarly consensus about which type of DI warrants support. This contribution addresses which type of DI scholars support, and which policy areas should be exempt. It explores these questions by means of …
The lessons of 1969: Policy learning, policy memory and voting age reform
Random drug testing in prisons: Does a little testing go a long way
Research Summary We investigated whether higher rates of random drug testing lower substance use among people who are incarcerated and improve prison safety. To answer this question, we estimated linear panel two‐way fixed effects models using naturally varying monthly rates of random drug testing across all Pennsylvania state prisons over a 45‐month period during 2016–2019. Overall, we find that the testing rate is not related to any of the vari…
Public opinion, political partisanship and the Votes-at-16 debate in the United Kingdom
The debate in the United Kingdom over whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has largely involved political elites demanding change. Public opinion, insofar as it has been tested at UK-wide level, has tended to oppose lowering the voting age for Westminster elections, but change has proceeded for non-Westminster elections in Scotland and Wales. Drawing upon extensive research undertaken as part of a 2-year Leverhulme Trust project on the …
A coming of age: How and why the UK became the first democracy to allow votes for 18-year-olds
In 1969, the UK became the first country to lower its age of franchise to 18. Most other democracies soon followed. This article provides the first detailed examination of the debates and processes which contributed to the UK’s pioneering reform of the age of enfranchisement. It explores parliamentary and press debates during the 1960s, arguing that lowering the voting age to 18 was not in response to popular mobilisation by the public or pressur…
The Risks and Benefits of Differentiated Integration in the European Union as Perceived by Academic Experts
This article sheds light on how academic experts assess the benefits and risks of differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union (EU). DI denotes particular member states either being allowed to opt out of specific EU policies, or being excluded or exempted from participating in them until certain conditions are met. The findings of a novel expert survey ( n = 95) highlight two key divisions amongst experts, namely, first a regional divide…
Introduction: The ‘Votes-at-16’ Debate in the UK
This series of articles examines aspects of the increasingly resonant and polarised debates across the UK about the lowering of the voting age to 16 years. The previous UK-wide extension of the age of franchise, from 21 to 18 years in 1969, attracted little partisanship or attention (Loughran et al., 2021). This was remarkable given the UK was the first democracy to lower the voting age to 18 years. The largely consensual nature of the change to …
Voting Age Reform, Political Partisanship and Multi-Level Governance in the UK: The Party Politics of ‘Votes-at-16
The UK is now a multi-level polity with asymmetrical minimum ages of enfranchisement. The franchise was first extended to 16- and 17-year-olds in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish and Welsh governments now permit 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in elections to their devolved parliaments and local councils. The Northern Ireland Executive and the devolved authorities in England do not, however, have the power to change the voting…
Disruptive Norms: Assessing the Impact of Ethnic Minority Immigration on Nonimmigrant Voter Turnout Using a Complex Model
This article explores whether introducing an external group into a population with different characteristics to the existing population may lead to behavioral change. Specifically, we test whether introducing ethnic minority immigrants with varying levels of civic duty (commitment to voting) norms into a previously homogenous nonimmigrant ethnic majority population influences voter turnout among the nonimmigrant majority group. The findings have …
Elaborating the Individual Difference Component in Deterrence Theory
Deterrence theory and criminal justice policy hold that punishment enhances compliance and deters future criminal activity. Empirical research, however, is decidedly mixed, with some studies finding that punishment weakens compliance, some finding that sanctions have no effect on compliance, and some finding that the effect of sanctions depends on moderating factors. In this review, we do not consider whether sanctions affect compliance but inste…
Elaborating the Individual Difference Component in Deterrence Theory
Deterrence theory and criminal justice policy hold that punishment enhances compliance and deters future criminal activity. Empirical research, however, is decidedly mixed, with some studies finding that punishment weakens compliance, some finding that sanctions have no effect on compliance, and some finding that the effect of sanctions depends on moderating factors. In this review, we do not consider whether sanctions affect compliance but inste…
Voting Age Reform, Political Partisanship and Multi-Level Governance in the UK: The Party Politics of ‘Votes-at-16
The UK is now a multi-level polity with asymmetrical minimum ages of enfranchisement. The franchise was first extended to 16- and 17-year-olds in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish and Welsh governments now permit 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in elections to their devolved parliaments and local councils. The Northern Ireland Executive and the devolved authorities in England do not, however, have the power to change the voting…
A coming of age: How and why the UK became the first democracy to allow votes for 18-year-olds
In 1969, the UK became the first country to lower its age of franchise to 18. Most other democracies soon followed. This article provides the first detailed examination of the debates and processes which contributed to the UK’s pioneering reform of the age of enfranchisement. It explores parliamentary and press debates during the 1960s, arguing that lowering the voting age to 18 was not in response to popular mobilisation by the public or pressur…
Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle
Consociationalism’s uneven performance has focussed attention on the (possible) end stage of power-sharing systems. Northern Ireland, once lauded a consociational success, is now discussed among consociational failures. We use new public opinion data to assess consociationalism in Northern Ireland from a citizen’s perspective, exploring support for, trust in, and knowledge of power-sharing. We show that public attachment to the principles of powe…
Random drug testing in prisons: Does a little testing go a long way
Research Summary We investigated whether higher rates of random drug testing lower substance use among people who are incarcerated and improve prison safety. To answer this question, we estimated linear panel two‐way fixed effects models using naturally varying monthly rates of random drug testing across all Pennsylvania state prisons over a 45‐month period during 2016–2019. Overall, we find that the testing rate is not related to any of the vari…
The Risks and Benefits of Differentiated Integration in the European Union as Perceived by Academic Experts
This article sheds light on how academic experts assess the benefits and risks of differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union (EU). DI denotes particular member states either being allowed to opt out of specific EU policies, or being excluded or exempted from participating in them until certain conditions are met. The findings of a novel expert survey ( n = 95) highlight two key divisions amongst experts, namely, first a regional divide…
Young people’s engagement in online research: Challenges and Lessons From Conducting Focus Groups With Young People Online
Online qualitative focus groups are a method which has been increasingly used, especially since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, including in research with young people. Studies have reflected upon the challenges of conducting online qualitative research with young people, often drawing on experiences from the pandemic’s earlier stages [e.g. Smithson et al. Citation2021; Woodrow et al. Citation2021]. This article reflects upon the challeng…
The lessons of 1969: Policy learning, policy memory and voting age reform
Public opinion, political partisanship and the Votes-at-16 debate in the United Kingdom
The debate in the United Kingdom over whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has largely involved political elites demanding change. Public opinion, insofar as it has been tested at UK-wide level, has tended to oppose lowering the voting age for Westminster elections, but change has proceeded for non-Westminster elections in Scotland and Wales. Drawing upon extensive research undertaken as part of a 2-year Leverhulme Trust project on the …
Elaborating the Individual Difference Component in Deterrence Theory
Deterrence theory and criminal justice policy hold that punishment enhances compliance and deters future criminal activity. Empirical research, however, is decidedly mixed, with some studies finding that punishment weakens compliance, some finding that sanctions have no effect on compliance, and some finding that the effect of sanctions depends on moderating factors. In this review, we do not consider whether sanctions affect compliance but inste…
Disruptive Norms: Assessing the Impact of Ethnic Minority Immigration on Nonimmigrant Voter Turnout Using a Complex Model
This article explores whether introducing an external group into a population with different characteristics to the existing population may lead to behavioral change. Specifically, we test whether introducing ethnic minority immigrants with varying levels of civic duty (commitment to voting) norms into a previously homogenous nonimmigrant ethnic majority population influences voter turnout among the nonimmigrant majority group. The findings have …
The lessons of 1969: Policy learning, policy memory and voting age reform
Random drug testing in prisons: Does a little testing go a long way
Research Summary We investigated whether higher rates of random drug testing lower substance use among people who are incarcerated and improve prison safety. To answer this question, we estimated linear panel two‐way fixed effects models using naturally varying monthly rates of random drug testing across all Pennsylvania state prisons over a 45‐month period during 2016–2019. Overall, we find that the testing rate is not related to any of the vari…
Public opinion, political partisanship and the Votes-at-16 debate in the United Kingdom
The debate in the United Kingdom over whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has largely involved political elites demanding change. Public opinion, insofar as it has been tested at UK-wide level, has tended to oppose lowering the voting age for Westminster elections, but change has proceeded for non-Westminster elections in Scotland and Wales. Drawing upon extensive research undertaken as part of a 2-year Leverhulme Trust project on the …
A coming of age: How and why the UK became the first democracy to allow votes for 18-year-olds
In 1969, the UK became the first country to lower its age of franchise to 18. Most other democracies soon followed. This article provides the first detailed examination of the debates and processes which contributed to the UK’s pioneering reform of the age of enfranchisement. It explores parliamentary and press debates during the 1960s, arguing that lowering the voting age to 18 was not in response to popular mobilisation by the public or pressur…
The Risks and Benefits of Differentiated Integration in the European Union as Perceived by Academic Experts
This article sheds light on how academic experts assess the benefits and risks of differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union (EU). DI denotes particular member states either being allowed to opt out of specific EU policies, or being excluded or exempted from participating in them until certain conditions are met. The findings of a novel expert survey ( n = 95) highlight two key divisions amongst experts, namely, first a regional divide…
Introduction: The ‘Votes-at-16’ Debate in the UK
This series of articles examines aspects of the increasingly resonant and polarised debates across the UK about the lowering of the voting age to 16 years. The previous UK-wide extension of the age of franchise, from 21 to 18 years in 1969, attracted little partisanship or attention (Loughran et al., 2021). This was remarkable given the UK was the first democracy to lower the voting age to 18 years. The largely consensual nature of the change to …
Voting Age Reform, Political Partisanship and Multi-Level Governance in the UK: The Party Politics of ‘Votes-at-16
The UK is now a multi-level polity with asymmetrical minimum ages of enfranchisement. The franchise was first extended to 16- and 17-year-olds in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish and Welsh governments now permit 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in elections to their devolved parliaments and local councils. The Northern Ireland Executive and the devolved authorities in England do not, however, have the power to change the voting…
The limits of support for differentiated integration in the European Union as perceived by academic experts
Differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union has recently attracted considerable scholarly and political attention. Yet, we know rather little about where scholars’ normative support of DI begins and where it ends, and whether there is scholarly consensus about which type of DI warrants support. This contribution addresses which type of DI scholars support, and which policy areas should be exempt. It explores these questions by means of …
Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle
Consociationalism’s uneven performance has focussed attention on the (possible) end stage of power-sharing systems. Northern Ireland, once lauded a consociational success, is now discussed among consociational failures. We use new public opinion data to assess consociationalism in Northern Ireland from a citizen’s perspective, exploring support for, trust in, and knowledge of power-sharing. We show that public attachment to the principles of powe…
Beyond unionism and nationalism: Do the ‘neithers’ want a border poll and a United Ireland
This article draws upon new data from a recent Economic and Social Research Council funded project, Beyond Unionism and Nationalism, 1 to examine whether electors in Northern Ireland identifying as neither nationalist/republican nor unionist/loyalist, the ‘neithers’, desire a referendum on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status (often labelled a border poll) on whether it should remain part of the UK or form part of a United Ireland and which o…
Young people’s engagement in online research: Challenges and Lessons From Conducting Focus Groups With Young People Online
Online qualitative focus groups are a method which has been increasingly used, especially since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, including in research with young people. Studies have reflected upon the challenges of conducting online qualitative research with young people, often drawing on experiences from the pandemic’s earlier stages [e.g. Smithson et al. Citation2021; Woodrow et al. Citation2021]. This article reflects upon the challeng…
Intuitive deterrence theorists…with feelings? Perceptions of Chinese resolve in a crisis
Recent experimental research has found citizens to be “intuitive deterrence theorists” who judge the resolve of foreign states based on their capabilities, material stakes, past behavior and costly signals. Yet there are good reasons to expect that subjective feelings toward the specific country in question—variables that are difficult to capture in genericized experimental designs—could also condition such judgements. We test this proposition us…
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Politics (8 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (7 works) · Political economy (7 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Psychology (6 works)