About

Anthony Salamone is a leading Scottish political scientist, analyst and thinker. He is Managing Director of European Merchants, the Scottish political analysis firm.

Anthony Salamone

Anthony Salamone

MA (Hons) MSc FRSA

Anthony Salamone FRSA is a leading Scottish political scientist, analyst and thinker, equipped with more than a decade of relevant experience. Anthony is Founder and Managing Director of European Merchants, the Scottish political analysis firm in Edinburgh. He is an expert on Scottish politics, the politics and institutions of the European Union, British politics and international relations. In particular, Anthony is an authority on the politics of Scottish independence, Scotland’s European and international relations, and the prospects of Scottish EU membership and foreign policy under independence. He has written and contributed extensively on these themes, as an influential voice in public debate. Anthony is known for providing insightful analysis that is thought-provoking and challenges prevailing opinion, made without regard to the popularity of its conclusions or their favourability to one side over another. Throughout his career, Anthony has worked to support substantive debate in Scotland and beyond, especially on European and global affairs.

Since founding European Merchants, Anthony has played a vanguard role in reshaping political analysis in Scotland, to provide greater substance on important areas of debate and to confront the superficiality common in today’s politics. He has undertaken significant work to improve political and policy discussion on Scotland’s current relationships with the EU and the wider world within the present constitution. For instance, the recommendations in his Scotland’s Global Standpoint report on developing a post-Brexit strategy for the Scottish Government’s European and international engagement were adopted in full in a committee report of the Scottish Parliament. Through the Scottish Statebuilder Project, Anthony has produced pioneering expert analysis on major questions of Scottish independence, to support informed debate. To date, he has published landmark reports on EU membership and foreign policy in the eventuality of independence. He has regularly broken new ground with his analysis of the wider Scottish independence debate, including the dispute over holding a new referendum. Anthony is Editor and Publisher of Political Courant, the Scottish analytical magazine from European Merchants. Articles from the magazine covering matters of Scottish, European and global politics are regularly featured in the Scottish media.

Anthony is well acquainted with both the policy and academic spheres, particularly in Edinburgh, Brussels and London. He has degrees from and worked at the University of Edinburgh and the London School of Economics and Political Science. At the University of Edinburgh, Anthony was Founding Managing Editor of European Futures, its academic blog on European affairs; Steering Group Member of the Edinburgh Europa Institute; Co-Convenor of the Edinburgh Europa Research Group; Founding President of the Edinburgh University European Union Society; Programme Assistant on the MSc International and European Politics; and Vice Convenor of the School of Social and Political Science. He created and was Lead Educator of Towards Brexit? The UK’s EU Referendum, the University’s Massive Open Online Course on FutureLearn during the 2016 EU referendum. At the LSE, he was Assistant Editor of the LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) academic blog and President of the LSE Students’ Union European Society. Anthony was co-founder of the former Scottish Centre on European Relations, the first European affairs think tank in Scotland. He was previously Committee Member of the UACES Graduate Forum and Member of the Local Organising Committee for the 24th International Conference of Europeanists in Glasgow. He served as a Member of the Citizens’ Panel of the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements.

Anthony is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a Member of the Edinburgh Europa Institute and President Emeritus of the Edinburgh University European Union Society. In the community, Anthony is Chair of the Board of the Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust. He holds memberships of the Scottish Universities Legal Network on Europe, University Association for Contemporary European Studies, Council for European Studies and the Political Studies Association of the UK. Anthony is an experienced and versatile writer, editor and publisher, having authored articles, op-eds, briefings, chapters, evidence, papers and major reports. He is an articulate and thoughtful public speaker, regularly contributing to media, publications and platforms across Scotland, Europe and the world. His media appearances include: The Scotsman, The Herald, The National, The Times, The Press and Journal, the Financial Times, The Economist, STV News, BBC News, CNN, Euronews, Politico Europe, EUobserver, Euractiv, Bloomberg, RFI, Deutsche Welle, Le Figaro, La Vanguardia, Scotland on Sunday, The Herald on Sunday, Sunday National, The Sunday Times and The Sunday Post. Over the years, he has organised and chaired numerous lectures, panel discussions and seminars on a multitude of themes, many having featured senior figures from Scotland, the wider UK, the EU and beyond. To engage with Anthony and his work, contact European Merchants.

Positions

European Merchants Limited

Founder and Managing Director

2019 – Present
The University of Edinburgh

Member

2014 – Present
The University of Edinburgh

President Emeritus

2017 – Present
Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust

Chair of the Board

2022 – Present

Past Positions

Independent Monitoring Authority

Member of the Citizens’ Panel

2021 – 2022
Centre on European Relations (Scotland)

Co-Founder

Scottish Centre on European Relations

2017 – 2019
The University of Edinburgh

Steering Group Member

2014 – 2018
The University of Edinburgh

Founding Managing Editor

2015 – 2018
The University of Edinburgh

Co-Convenor

2014 – 2017
University Association for Contemporary European Studies

Committee Member

2016 – 2017
Council for European Studies

Local Organising Committee Member

2016 – 2017
The University of Edinburgh

Programme Assistant

2015 – 2016
The University of Edinburgh

Vice Convenor (Postgraduate)

2014 – 2015
London School of Economics and Political Science

Assistant Editor

2013 – 2014
London School of Economics and Political Science

President

2013 – 2014
The University of Edinburgh

Founding President

2012 – 2013 | Honorary President 2013 – 2016 | President 2016 – 2017

Academic Qualifications

The University of Edinburgh

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

British and European Politics

In Progress
London School of Economics and Political Science

Master of Science (MSc)

Global Politics

2014
The University of Edinburgh

Master of Arts with Honours (MA Hons)

French and German and European Union Studies

2013

Academic Teaching

The University of Edinburgh · FutureLearn

Creator and Lead Educator

2016
The University of Edinburgh · FutureLearn

Teaching Assistant

2016
The University of Edinburgh

Course Tutor

Analysing European Governance and Public Policy

2015 – 2016
The University of Edinburgh · Coursera

Teaching Assistant

Understanding the UK’s 2015 General Election (MOOC)

2015

Fellowship

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)

Memberships