I am a Research Officer at the Northern Ireland Assembly, specialising in equality, human rights, community relations and conflict.

Email: MPotter02@qub.ac.uk.

Research Interests

My principal research interests are the experiences of women and minority ethnic communities during and after identity-based (or ethno-national) conflict, with a particular focus on the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland. My work examines the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion of groups during conflict and the perpetuation of these patterns in the post-conflict polity.

Current projects include media representations of minority identities, the nature of ethnicity and identity formation in the former Yugoslavia, the relationship between sectarianism and racism and the development and formation of prejudice.

Books

• Inclusion in Post-Conflict Legislatures: The Kosovo and Northern Ireland Assemblies, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.

Journal Articles

• ‘Measuring Inclusion in Political Life: A Framework for Analysis’ in Nationalism and Ethnic Politics Vol 24 No 3, pp.324-335, 2018.
• ‘Negotiating Invisible Borders: Minority Identities and Northern Ireland’ in Journal of Cross-Border Studies, Vol 13, pp.45-53, 2018.
• ‘Europeanisation and Minority Policies in Post-Conflict Kosovo: Genuine Inclusion or Window-Dressing?’ in Südost Europa Vol.65 No.1, pp.35-55, 2017.
• ‘Loyalism, Women and Standpoint Theory’ in Irish Political Studies, vol.29 no.2, 258-274, 2014.
• ‘Picking on Vulnerable Migrants: Precarity and the Mushroom Industry in Northern Ireland’ in Work, Employment and Society, vol. 28 no. 3, pp.390-406, 2014, with Jennifer Hamilton.
• ‘The Experiences of Traveller Children and Young People in Northern Ireland’ in Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, Vol 9 Issue 1, pp.3-18, 2014, with Fiona Bloomer and Jennifer Hamilton.
• ‘The Adequacy of Traveller Education in Northern Ireland’ in Race, Ethnicity and Education, Vol 15 No 4, pp.501-524, 2012, with Jennifer Hamilton and Fiona Bloomer.
• ‘Women into Non-Traditional Sectors: Addressing Gender Segregation in the Northern Ireland Workforce’ in Journal of Vocational Education and Training, Vol 61 Issue 2, pp.133-150, 2009, with Myrtle Hill.
• ‘Small Steps or Giant Leaps? Defining Reconciliation in the Transition from Conflict in Northern Ireland’ in Australasian Journal of Human Security, Vol 2 No 2, pp.41-55, 2006.

Chapters in Edited Volumes

• ‘Traveller Education: Policy and Practice in Northern Ireland’ in Rougier, N and Honohan, I (eds) Tolerance and Diversity in Ireland – North and South. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp.74-93, 2015, with Jennifer Hamilton and Fiona Bloomer.
• ‘What about the Women? Transitional Justice and Gender in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland’ in Simić, O and Volčić, Z (eds) Civil Society and Transitional Justice in the Balkans, New York: Springer, pp.163-180, 2012, with Hedley Abernethy.
• ‘Women, Civil Society and Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland: Paths to Peace Through Women’s Empowerment’ in Farrington, C (ed) Global Change, Civil Society and the Northern Ireland Peace Process, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.142-158, 2008.

Selected Northern Ireland Assembly Research Papers

• Definitions of the ‘Particular Circumstances’ of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly Briefing Paper 48/20, 2020.
• Key Issues for a Bill of Rights, Northern Ireland Assembly Briefing Paper 15/20, 2020.
• Female Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly1998-2016, Northern Ireland Assembly Briefing Paper 30/16, 2016.
• Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 63/14, 2014.
• Human Rights and Equality Proofing of Public Bills, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 20/14, 2014, with Tim Moore and Jane Campbell.
• Review of Gender Issues in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 15/14, 2014.
• Women in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 108/13, 2013.
• Human Trafficking in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 100/12, 2012 with Leigh Egerton.
• Equality and Human Rights Institutions, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 76/11, 2011.
• Equality and Human Rights Legislation in Northern Ireland: A Review, Northern Ireland Assembly Research Paper 75/11, 2011.