Charis Rice is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University, working in the Communities, Identities and Politics Research Group. Charis obtained her PhD from Ulster University in the area of Government Communication. She has since worked as a Lecturer in Communication and as a Consultant for a major Management Consultancy before joining Coventry University.

Her research interests include political communication, public relations, insider threat, and exploring trust and power in institutional contexts and divided societies. Charis has published in a variety of peer reviewed journals such as Public Relations Review, Journalism Studies and The International Journal of Press/Politics and she has been awarded various funding. She has presented her work at a host of international conferences including: the International Communication Association (ICA), the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), the Political Studies Association (PSA). Charis is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Expert Fellow of SPRITE+.

Political communication; public relations; journalism; trust; divided societies; insider threat.

My vision is to produce thought provoking quality research which is relevant to academics, practitioners and wider society. Growing up in post-conflict Northern Ireland, I became aware of the existence of competing public discourses. This experience fuelled my desire to investigate how public messages are produced and disseminated, alongside their impact in a divided society and in contemporary democracies generally. I believe exploring the roles and relationships of elite actors and organisations, such as government and the media, is paramount to understanding the workings – and health – of democratic societies.