Dr. S.D. (Steven) Pickering
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Programme group: Transnational Configurations, Conflict and Governance
Visiting address
- Nieuwe Achtergracht 166
Postal address
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Postbus 15578
1001 NB Amsterdam
Contact details
Social media
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Profile
Described by The Times as a "political scientist with too much time on his hands", I'm based in the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. I have held previous positions at Kobe University, Japan, the Department of Government at the University of Essex, and the University of Lancaster.
I'm Primary Investigator on the UKRI (ESRC) / JSPS-funded TrustTracker project: our latest cutting-edge research can be found at TrustTracker.org.
Research expertise
- Trust
- Conflict
- Disease
- Public opinion
- Health
- Surveys
- Vaccination
- Geospatial methods
- UK-Japan relations
- Food and politics
- Fish and chips and Brexit
- Cars and health/disease
- Health care and trust
- Police and trust
- COVID and trust
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Research
Research methods
- Geospatial methods
- Quantitative methods
- Data scraping
- Data wrangling
Current research projects
- Trust in the UK and Japan: major project running multiple waves of surveys to understand why people trust (or do not trust) political institutions
Research grants
- 2022 – 2025: UKRI (ESRC)/ JSPS UK-Japan research grant (£419,000 + 30,000,000 JPY): Measuring trust and its variance during the COVID-19 pandemic using serial surveys and quantitative text analysis (PIs: Steve Pickering and Yosuke Sunahara, Kobe University)
- 2016: Brief Award: £11,000
- 2013: Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation: 310,000 JPY
- 2013: Japanese Association of Electoral Studies: 200,000 yen (PI: Kyohei Yamada; CIs:
- Steve Pickering, Kyohei Yamada)
- Awards:
- 2021: UBS Student-led award
- 2019: Brunel University London Award for Excellence
- 2010: Politics and International Relations Teaching Award, Lancaster University
- 2009: Cedric Smith Prize for Peace or Conflict Research, Conflict Research Society
Current cooperation
Currently involved in a major collaboration with Prof Atsushi Tago (Waseda University), Prof Yosuke Sunahara (Kobe University), Prof Han Dorussen (University of Essex), Prof Thomas Scotto (University of Glasgow), Prof Jason Reifler (University of Exeter) and Prof Dorothy Yen (Brunel University London). Also involved in collaborations with Prof Ismene Gizelis (University of Essex) and Prof Seiki Tanaka (Groningen University)
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Teaching
I am deeply involved in the hugely exciting BSc Computational Social Science. This new programme takes all of the good things about the social sciences, adds in programming and data skills, mixes in projects with external partners, and creates something completely different to any other degree. Fundamentally, this programme is fun, useful and will help our students to get cutting edge careers.
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Publications
2024
Dorussen, H., Hansen, M. E., Pickering, S. D., Reifler, J., Scotto, T. J., Sunahara, Y., & Yen, D. (2024). The influence of waiting times and sociopolitical variables on public trust in healthcare: A cross-sectional study of the NHS in England. Public Health in Practice, 7, Article 100484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100484 [details]- Hansen, M. E., & Pickering, S. D. (2024). From Plaster Casts to Picket Lines: Public Support for Industrial Action in the National Health Service in England. Nursing Inquiry, 31(3), Article e12637. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12637 [details]
- Hansen, M. E., & Pickering, S. D. (2024). The role of religion and COVID 19 vaccine uptake in England. Vaccine, 42(13), 3215-3219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.04.006 [details]
- Pickering, S. D., Gökçe, Ö., Hanna, D., Knell, M., Lee, D., Scales, M., Zeinalabidin, M., Sunahara, Y., & Hansen, M. E. (2024). Public perceptions of human excretion-based fertiliser in England and Japan. Waste Management Bulletin, 2(4), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wmb.2024.08.002
- Pickering, S., Dorussen, H., Hansen, M. E., Reifler, J., Scotto, T., Sunahara, Y., & Yen, D. (2024). London, you have a problem with women: Trust towards the police in England. Policing & Society, 34(8), 747-762. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2024.2334009 [details]
2021
- Gizelis, T.-I., Pickering, S. D., & Urdal, H. (2021). Conflict on the Urban Fringe: Urbanization, environmental stress, and urban unrest in Africa. Political Geography, 86, Article 102357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2021.102357
- Yu, Q., Pickering, S. D., Geng, R., & Yen, D. (2021). Thanks for the memories: Exploring city tourism experiences via social media reviews. Tourism Management Perspectives, 40, Article 100851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100851
2020
- Pickering, S. D., Tanaka, S., & Yamada, K. (2020). The impact of municipal mergers on local public spending: Evidence from remote-sensing data. Journal of East Asian Studies, 20(2), 243-266. https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2020.1
2019
- Fisher, J., Hansen, M., Pickering, S. D., & Sarmiento-Mirwaldt, K. (2019). A note from the new editorial team. Political Studies Review, 98.
2017
- Pickering, S. (2017). Geography and foreign policy. In W. R. Thompson (Ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics Article e-431 (Oxford Research Encyclopedias). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.431
- Pickering, S. D. (2017). A new way to proxy levels of infrastructure development. Research & Politics, 4(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177.2053168016687430
2016
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Understanding geography and war: Misperceptions, foundations, and prospects. Springer.
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Conclusion. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_7
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Critical Approaches. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_2
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Critical Quantitative Geo-Spatial Methods and War. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_6
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Feminist Approaches to Geopolitics: Beyond the Geopolitics of Gender. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_3
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). History. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_1
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Introducing SpatialGridBuilder: A new system for creating geo-coded datasets. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 423-447. https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894215581320
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Popular Geopolitics. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_4
- Pickering, S. D. (2016). Religious Geopolitics and the Geopolitics of Religion. In Understanding Geography and War: Misperceptions, Foundations and Prospects Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52217-7_5
2015
- Pickering, S. (2015). Geography and war: Avoiding the curse of high geopolitics. In War: An Introduction to Theories and Research on Collective Violence: Second Edition (pp. 257-277). Nova Science Publishers, Inc..
- Pickering, S. D. (2015). The geography of war: Avoiding the curse of high geo-politics. In T. G. Jakobsen (Ed.), War: An introduction to theories and research on collective violence
2014
- Gleditsch, K. S., & Pickering, S. (2014). Wars are becoming less frequent: A response to Harrison and Wolf. Economic History Review, 67(1), 214-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0289.12002
- Pickering, S. (2014). Divide and Conquer: The Impact of “Political” Maps on International Relations. Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, 20(3), 461-478. https://doi.org/10.1515/peps-2014-0012
2013
- Pickering, S. (2013). Borderlines: Maps and the spread of the Westphalian state from Europe to Asia part one - The European context. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives, 40(4W3), 111-116. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsarchives-XL-4-W3-111-2013
2012
- Pickering, S. D. (2012). Proximity, maps and conflict: New measures, new maps and new findings. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 29(4), 425-443. https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894212449092
- Pickering, S. D. (2012). The terrain of war: How using the word 'mountain' biases conflict research. In M. Chatterji (Ed.), Cooperation for a peaceful and sustainable world (Vol. 1). Emerald.
2011
- Geyer, R., & Pickering, S. D. (2011). Applying the tools of complexity to the international realm: From fitness landscapes to complexity cascades. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2011.558053
- Pickering, S. (2011). Determinism in the mountains: The ongoing belief in the bellicosity of 'mountain people'. The Economics of Peace and Security Jounal, 6(2), 21-25. https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.6.2.21
2023
- Pickering, S. (2023). [Review of: J. Gerring, B. Apfeld, T. Wig, A.F. Tollefsen (2022) The Deep Roots of Modern Democracy: Geography and the Diffusion of Political Institutions]. Journal of Peace Research. https://www.prio.org/journals/jpr/booknotes/355
2024
- Pickering, S. D. (2024). Human manure or ‘nightsoil’ makes great crop fertiliser – but attitudes to poo-grown produce differ drastically. The Conversation . https://theconversation.com/human-manure-or-nightsoil-makes-great-crop-fertiliser-but-attitudes-to-poo-grown-produce-differ-drastically-237098
- Pickering, S. D., & Hansen, M. E. (2024). Religion and COVID-19: methodists and Church of England followers more likely to have been vaccinated than Muslims and Pentecostals. Web publication or website, The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/religion-and-covid-19-methodists-and-church-of-england-followers-more-likely-to-have-been-vaccinated-than-muslims-and-pentecostals-228539
- Scotto, T., Hansen, M. E., & Pickering, S. D. (2024). Sky-high waiting times don’t make people trust the NHS any less – why that’s potentially bad news for Rishi Sunak. Web publication or website, The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/sky-high-waiting-times-dont-make-people-trust-the-nhs-any-less-why-thats-potentially-bad-news-for-rishi-sunak-228037
2022
- Yen, D. (Author), Pickering, S. (Author), & Scotto, T. (Author). (2022). Britain’s energy price cap left many people confused – especially Conservative voters. Web publication or website, The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/britains-energy-price-cap-left-many-people-confused-especially-conservative-voters-193985
Prize / grant
- Pickering, S. (2022). Japan: Measuring trust and its variance during the COVID-19 pandemic using serial surveys and quantitative text analysis.
- Pickering, S. (2022). United Kingdom: Measuring trust and its variance during the COVID-19 pandemic using serial surveys and quantitative text analysis.
- Pickering, S. (2021). UBS Student-led award. https://youtu.be/yEYsvX3MtOE?si=TEyEWf2FUZ0vWjch
- Pickering, S. (2019). Brunel University London Award for Excellence.
- Pickering, S. (2016). BRIEF Award.
- Pickering, S. (2013). Japanese Association of Electoral Studies.
- Pickering, S. (2013). Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation.
- Pickering, S. (2010). Teaching Award.
- Pickering, S. (2009). Cedric Smith Award for Peace or Conflict Research.
Media appearance
- Pickering, S. (18-04-2024). Revealed: The Met is the least trusted police force in England by women [Print] The Daily Mail. Revealed: The Met is the least trusted police force in England by women. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13322651/met-police-trusted-force-england-women-sarah-everard.html
- Pickering, S. (18-04-2024). Is the UK losing trust in its police force? [Radio] WION Indian. Is the UK losing trust in its police force?. https://youtu.be/GjLWxiPHTL0?si=WOGmf8xr8SYAQLjb
- Pickering, S. (18-04-2024). Only 40% of people in England trust their police force, research reveals [Web] The Guardian. Only 40% of people in England trust their police force, research reveals. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/18/only-40-of-people-in-england-trust-their-police-force-research-reveals#:~:text=Only%20four%2…
Journal editor
- Pickering, S. (editor), Fisher, J. (editor), Hansen, M. (editor) & Sarmiento-Mirwaldt, K. (editor) (2019-2024). Political Studies Review (Journal).
Others
- Pickering, S. (participant) (2-3-2023). Trust and Compliance: Insights from the UK and Japan, London. Is policy more effective when people have higher levels of trust? Looking at COVID-19 and many other factors, a team of scholars from the UK and (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...). https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trust-and-compliance-insights-from-the-uk-and-japan-tickets-557720144967
2024
- Pickering, S. (23-1-2024). Replication Data for: From Plaster Casts to Picket Lines: Public Support for Industrial Action in the NHS. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/SZJSOF
- Pickering, S. & Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: The Price of Trust: Deciphering How Inflation and Interest Rates Influence Trust in Government. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/chz7eb
- Pickering, S. & Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare Trust and Satisfaction: An Analysis of Public Perceptions of the NHS in England. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/u099dy
- Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: Assessing Public Opinion towards Strikes in the English Education Sector. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/kmsyin
- Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: Examining Trust in Public Service News Providers: A comparison of the BBC and NHK. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/aue81c
- Pickering, S. (2024). UK restaurant data by parliamentary constituency. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/sigcj1
- Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: The role of religion on COVID-19 vaccine uptake in England. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/vga0bk
- Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: I disapprove of what you say, and I won’t defend your right to say it. Comparing attitudes towards freedom of expression in the UK and Japan. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/trby0p
- Pickering, S. (2024). Replication Data for: Peacekeeping by any other name: A conjoint experiment evaluating support for contributions to missions in Japan and the UK. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/zi4pbd
- Pickering, S. (2024). US restaurant data by county. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/auun3w
2023
- Pickering, S. (28-9-2023). Replication Data for: London, you have a problem with women: Trust towards the police in England. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/2XLCM0
- Pickering, S. (2023). Replication Data for: Restaurant locations and political behaviour: Can Japanese restaurants and fish and chip shops predict political behaviour in the United Kingdom?. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/xfqqum
- Pickering, S. (2023). Replication Data for: The Influence of Waiting Times and Sociopolitical Variables on Public Trust in Healthcare: A Cross-Sectional Study of the NHS in England. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AQYYNK
- Pickering, S. (2023). Replication Data for: Public Perceptions of Human Excretion-Based Fertilizer in England and Japan. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/0vnqpp
- Pickering, S. (2023). Replication Data for: Influence of Waiting Times and Sociopolitical Variables on Public Trust in Healthcare: A Cross-Sectional Study of the NHS in England. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/aqyynk
2022
- Pickering, S., Gizelis, T.-I. & Urdal, H. (2022). Replication Data for: Conflict on the Urban Fringe. Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/MKJJMN
2021
- Pickering, S. (2021). Fish and chip shop data. Steve Pickering. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o8OwTf_xy1NyFCBz9OLY5yMsd9fPlpNWW8ozjNIUohc/edit?usp=sharing
2017
- Pickering, S. (2017). Infrastructure data. CRAN. http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/infra/index.html
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Ancillary activities
No ancillary activities
Dorussen, H., Hansen, M. E., Pickering, S. D., Reifler, J., Scotto, T. J., Sunahara, Y., & Yen, D. (2024). The influence of waiting times and sociopolitical variables on public trust in healthcare: A cross-sectional study of the NHS in England. Public Health in Practice, 7, Article 100484.