Dr Allinson's principal research interests are centred on the social and political history of the GDR, the modern constitutional history of the German-speaking world, and the interwar period in Austria.

He is currently working on a project investigating the workings of the GDR in a 'normal' year in the 1970s, and is researching articles on various aspects of the GDR's development, including Christmas and radio soap opera.

Dr Allinson has supervised doctoral theses on the development of patriotism in young East Germans before and since the unification of Germany in 1990; and on the handling of environmental politics in East Germany by the government and the opposition. He has also supervised MPhil dissertations on the nature of the Freedom Party of Austria, and on minority groups in the early GDR. He welcomes enquiries from potential postgraduate students with interests in the GDR and modern German or Austrian politics.

In 2016-17 Dr Allinson's teaching programme includes the following undergraduate units:

• GERM 10013 Introduction to German History within the first year Introduction to German Studies unit
• GERM 22037 Divided Germany (1945-1990)
• MODL 20008 Political Systems of Modern Europe
• MODL 30001 Communism in Europe

Dr Allinson also regularly teaches units in the German Department on the history of the German left since 1848, and on German and Austrian constitutional history. He supervises Independent Study units in these and other aspects of modern German and European political history.