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Biography
Diana is an Assistant Professor in Political Theory in the School of Politics and International Relations. She joined the 海角黑料 in 2023, having previously worked at the University of Edinburgh, King's College London, the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics, and being a visiting research fellow at the Hoover Chair in Social and Economic Ethics, UCLouvain. Diana received her PhD in Government from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2018, and also holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from the LSE. Before that, Diana graduated two Master's Degrees at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, both cum laude (MA in Philosophy of the Social Sciences and MSc in Political Science/Political Theory, where her thesis received the Best Dissertation award).
Diana is interested in taking political theory ideas in real-world settings, having contributed to EU reports on the topic of her PhD thesis and co-editing (since 2022) the Beyond the Ivory Tower series for the Justice Everywhere blog, which publishes interviews with political thinkers who have made an impact on public matters through their work.
In 2024, Diana joined UoN's Rights Lab Law and Policy Programme as Rights Lab Assistant Professor in Political Theory, where she is currently a PI on a grant studying the Romania-Germany trafficking route, and CO-I on a grant measuring cross-border trafficking from Romania and Bulgaria run by the current UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons, Katarina Schwartz. She is interested in survivor-informed perspectives on policy interventions, especially with regards to aftercare.
Since 2011, Diana has been involved in Widening Participation initiatives coordinated by British Universities as well as NGOs in the UK and Romania, most notably as Course Director in Government and Politics at the LSE Widening Participation Summer School, teacher at Clubul de Educatie Alternativa run by the Policy Centre for Roma and Minorities in Bucharest, teacher at the KCL Widening Participation Summer and Winter schools, mentor for children at three underprivileged London schools (including a special programme for Romani children), and helping pilot the Ethics Through Short Stories curriculum in London-based underprivileged schools for two consecutive years (now the basis of an award-winning module at the University of North Carolina, run by Prof Luc Bovens). Currently, Diana is working on developing student-centered perspectives on how AI misuse might widen award gaps, building on the findings of two ESE funded projects, and enjoying a 6 month period of study leave.
Expertise Summary
Diana is a democratic theorist applying a critical theory framework to social policies in the areas of discrimination, human trafficking, post-truth, and education policy.
Teaching Summary
Diana teaches political theory modules with a focus on social justice and on political concepts relevant for understanding current affairs.
Her recent modules include:
- POLI1013 Introduction to Political Theory
- POLI1030 Political Theory in Practice
- POLI2043 Social and Global Justice
Research Summary
Diana is currently working on discrimination, deliberative approaches to post-truth, and the future of work.
Recent Publications
DIANA POPESCU-SARRY, 2026. Educational Philosophy and Theory. 0(0), 1-13
DIANA POPESCU-SARRY and KIAN MINTZ-WOO, 2025. Critical Romani Studies. 7(1), 5
DIANA ELENA POPESCU, 2024. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. 27(7), 1204-1227
DIANA POPESCU SARRY, 2023. American Political Science Review.