Dr Denny Pencheva

Lecturer (Teaching) in European Public Policy and Politics
Room: 4.01, 31 Tavistock Square
Email: d.pencheva@ucl.ac.uk

 

Biography

I joined UCL in 2020 after completing my PhD (Politics) at the University of Bristol in 2019, where I taught and convened core and elective modules in political science and social policy. I am also the Graduate Dissertation Tutor and the Co-Director for Careers and Alumni for the Department of Political Science.

Research

My research interests are within the field of European and British politics, with a particular emphasis on Brexit, migration, labour and welfare policies. My research has explored historical and contemporary aspects of European integration, as well as the growing political and economic interdependencies in the aftermath of the three rounds of Eastern EU enlargement, the political communication of the Remain and Leave campaigns, Brexit and neoliberalism, and the significance of EU migration for UK political parties and policy making. In terms of regional expertise, my work is focused on the UK, the EU, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe/the Balkans.

I am also interested in advancing the role of qualitative social science methods in interdisciplinary research. I have collaborated with the Cyber Security Group (University of Bristol) on projects related to cyber security education and online identities in the Darknet.

Publications

Books

• Maronitis, K. and Pencheva, D. (2022) ‘Robots and Immigrants: Who is Stealing Jobs?’. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

Journal articles

• Pencheva, D. (2021) ‘Detoxifying European Migration (Again)’, Renewal, 29(4), pp. 75–83.
• Peersman, C., Pencheva, D. and Rashid, A. (2021) ‘Tokyo, Denver, Helsinki, Lisbon or the Professor? A Framework for Understanding Cybercriminal Roles in Darknet Markets’, 2021 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime), pp. 1–12.
• Pencheva, D., Hallet, J. and Rashid, A. (2020) ‘Bringing Cyber to School: Integrating Cyber Security into Secondary School Education’, IEEE Security and Privacy, 18(2): pp. 68–74.
• Pencheva, D. and Maronitis, K. (2018) ‘Fetishizing Sovereignty in the Remain and Leave Campaigns’, European Politics and Society, 19(5), pp. 526–539.

Book chapters

• Pencheva, D. (2020) ‘Stealing Jobs and Benefits: Bulgarians and Romanians in British News Media’, in T. L. Thomsen (ed.) Changes, Challenges and Advantages of Cross-Border Labour Mobility within the EU. Peter Lang Publishing, pp. 28–62.

Public engagement

• Pencheva, D. and Kelly, C. (2024) 'The UK’s irregular migration policy must be rooted in cooperation with the EU', LSE EUROPP, 27 August 2024
• Pencheva, D. and K. Maronitis (2024) 'A migrant, a Brit and a robot walk into a bar: who will get a job?', Transforming Society (Bristol Uni Press), 19 June 2024
• Pencheva, D. and Maronitis, K. (2023) ‘The Brexit Utopia: Towards a Migrant-free, Fully Automated Economy?’, UCL Europe Blog.
• Pencheva, D. and Maronitis, K. (2023) ‘Will You Lose Your Job to Automation?’, Reshaping Work.
• Pencheva, D. (2022) ‘Racialised Solidarities’, UCL Ukraine Analyses.
• Pencheva, D. (2022) ‘What to do with (Eastern) Europeans after Brexit?’, UCL EU Institute.
• Pencheva, D. (2022) ‘From Pre-Brexit Anxieties to Post-Brexit Policy Challenges’, UCL Policy Lab.
• Pencheva, D. (2020) ‘The Worst of Both Worlds: EU Workers between Coronavirus and Brexit’, COMPAS Coronavirus and Mobility Forum, University of Oxford.
• Pencheva, D. (2020) ‘Coronavirus: Flying in Fruit Pickers from Countries in Lockdown is Dangerous for Everyone’, The Conversation.
• Pencheva, D. (2020) ‘Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers’, LSE Book Reviews.
• Pencheva, D. (2019) ‘Brexit and Migration: New Research Highlights Fact-Free News Coverage’, The Conversation.
• Pencheva, D. (2016) ‘Brexit: How did News Media Play a Role?’, Policy Bristol.

Teaching

I teach courses related to the wider disciplines of European and comparative politics, and public policy on both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I also convene the Dissertation module for all our MA, MSc and MPA students, which focuses on research design choices and essential study skills.