Anthony was awarded a PhD in Political Science from University College Cork (UCC) in 2016. His dissertation 'Exploring Ireland's Approach to Negotiating the 2012 Fiscal Stability Treaty: A Qualitative Study' explored the various forces (domestic and international) that shaped Ireland's national position on the terms of the Fiscal Stability Treaty and the domestic and international opportunity structures that the Irish negotiating team used to achieve concessions closest to Ireland's national preferences. The dissertation was supervised by Dr Mary C Murphy (UCC) and externally examined by Dr Dermot Hodson (Birkbeck).
Following his PhD, Anthony was a lecturer in the Department of Government & Political Science (University College Cork). He remained in the post until joining the Department of History and Politics at Liverpool Hope University in September 2020.
At Liverpool Hope, Anthony lectures on both the politics and international relations programmes with special teaching interests in EU integration and governance, EU policy/treaty making processes and comparative European Politics. He is the International Relations coordinator for first year and the coordinator of the 'Contemporary Britain' course which is offered to visiting students from overseas. Aside from his academic-administrative responsibilities, he also contributes to the wider university as coordinator of Liverpool Hope's Anglican Community.
Anthony's research interests lie in European Integration and Governance. He has published work on the Fiscal Stability Treaty/Fiscal Compact, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), Turkey and the EU, Brexit, and deliberative democracy and the Future of Europe. In line with his research on the Future of Europe and interest in policy-making procedures, he is particularly interested in the concept of (internal) Differentiated Integration, and Differentiated Disintegration and the EU. Anthony regularly reviews research articles and textbooks for top-tier publications. Currently, he is co-editing a special section of research articles on the topic of European Contestation and the periphery, and contributes his time as as co-convener of the Political Studies Association of Ireland's (PSAI), Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (PDD) Specialist Group.
Costello, A (2023) scenario visualisation models as methods to strengthen public recommendations for the future of Europe. (Under Peer Review).
Özçelik, A O, Renda, K & Costello, A (2023) Battle for the European Union in the Periphery: Contestation Dynamics and Domestic Debates. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
Costello, A (2023) 'Miscalculations and Constraints: Brexit and the Failed Statecraft of Theresa May' in Roe-Crines, A and Jeffery, D. Policies and Politics under Prime Minister Theresa May: A Question of Statecraft. Palgrave MacMillan.
Costello, A (2022) Analyzing and Understanding European Democracy. European Political Science. Palgrave MacMillan on behalf of the European Consortium of Political Research.
Costello, A. (2022) 'Expectations, Benchmarks & Tensions: Exploring Turkey's Political U-Turn from Brussels' in Cakmak & Onur Ozcelik (ed) EU Conditionality in Turkey: When it works, when it fails. Lexington Books.
Costello, A (2021) Meaningful, but Effective? A Critical Evaluation of Ireland's Citizens' Dialogues on the Future of Europe. Politics. Vol, 42, No.4, pp. pp. 464–479. Sage on behalf of the Political Studies Association.
Costello, A (2021) 'The European Neighbourhood Policy in the South Mediterranean' in Haastrup, T, Mah, L & Duggan N (ed) Routledge Handbook on EU-Africa Relations. Taylor & Francis.
Costello, A (2022) Ireland. Yearbook of European Integration. Institute of European Politics. Nomos.
Costello, A (2021) Ireland. Yearbook of European Integration. Institute of European Politics. Nomos.
Costello, A (2020) Ireland. Yearbook of European Integration. Institute of European Politics. Nomos.
Costello, A (2019) Ireland. Yearbook of European Integration. Institute of European Politics. Nomos.
Costello, A (2018) Ireland. Yearbook of European Integration. Institute of European Politics. Nomos.
Costello, A (2014) The Fiscal Stability Treaty Referendum 2012. Irish Political Studies. Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 457-470. Routledge.