Postdoctoral Research Fellow Seb Rumsby has written an article for The Conversation, titled "Economic migration: the root problem is not smugglers but global inequality."

This piece is based on his ground-breaking new research on the everyday politics of undocumented Vietnamese migration to the UK, which is being funded by the Independent Social Research Foundation. Seb says: "Ever since the tragic deaths of 27 migrants in the UK-France channel in December 2021, I've been burning to write something in defence of economic migration, which is much maligned in our mainstream media. I want to join the dots between my own research of undocumented migrants with other people's research exposing the massive inequalities of our global economic system. From here, I can show how economic migrants have just as much right to seek a better life as asylum seekers."

"Economic migration is not going to go away - I'm afraid it will only be a matter of time before the next dinghy sinks in the English Channel. On the contrary, it's only going to get bigger with climate change making more of the planet uninhabitable. We can challenge the familiar narratives of 'they're coming to take us over' or 'there's not enough space for them all', but only if we appreciate how our economic system creates such crazy inequalities that makes economic migration inevitable."

You can read Seb's article here.

The National Student Survey (NSS) is now open at the link below. In partnership with our students, we have built the PAIS department together. Thank you! We’d love your feedback on the three or four years you have spent with us, in PAIS.

TAKE THE SURVEY – DIRECT LINK TO COMPLETE THE NSS

Why else complete the survey?

As a thank you (and following student feedback) the following PAIS specific prizes are available (eligible finalists will be entered into a prize draw).

• 20x £20 and 1x £100 Love2Shop vouchers released once we hit a 50% response rate
• 20x £20 and 1x £100 Love2Shop vouchers released once we hit a 75% response rate

We’ll email you when we reach each threshold and, with their permission, let you know who the lucky winners are. The winners, if they wish, can ask for their prize fund to be donated to one of the University charity schemes instead. There is not a cash alternative available.

The PAIS scheme is in addition to the University prize draw. However, to clarify, PAIS finalists are eligible to win in both.

It will take just 5 minutes to complete. Your feedback matters and makes a huge difference to PAIS as shown on our You Said We Did page.

Dr. Titipol Phakdeewanich is based at the Faculty of Political Science at Ubon Ratchathani University in Thailand. Previously, he has been a Visiting Research Fellow on Human Rights at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Lund University, Sweden. His research is focused on finding actual solutions to problems experienced by the under-represented, marginalised, and disenfranchised groups within Thailand. In this seminar, Dr. Phakdeewanich discusses the relevance of the Thai ‘patronage system’ as a paradigm for understanding politics in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Date: 25th February 2022

Time: 09:00-10:00 AM

Venue: Zoom meeting

This seminar is part of the East Asia Study Group (EASG) Seminar Series. For further information, meeting link and passcode, please contact the EASG at easg@warwick.ac.uk

Congratulations to Mahmoud Abdou, who passed his viva on the 10th January. His internal examiner was Professor George Christou (PAIS) and his external examiner was Professor Neophytos Loizides from the University of Kent. His thesis on "International law and the territorial controls of non-state armed groups in Yemen and Libya (2011-2015)" was supervised by Briony Jones and Richard Aldrich at PAIS, and is informed by postcolonialism in IR theory and the Third World Approach to International Law (TWAIL). Mahmoud hopes to publish it as a book soon.

Founded in 2007, the Cornell International Affairs Review (CIAR) is a biannual, student-run academic journal at Cornell University dedicated to publishing undergraduate, postgraduate, and expert scholarship on contemporary international affairs and international relations.

The Review focuses on both traditional political science approaches and multidisciplinary research, and thus welcomes submissions from any relevant field of study. Papers should preferably address events and trends that are not well-established in current international relations scholarship, yet have immediate global relevance and engage a broader and more diverse audience beyond the traditional academic sphere. We particularly encourage papers that seek to address historically underrepresented demographics, as well as lesser-studied regions, individuals, and events, as well as the submission of papers that utilise non-English language secondary scholarship or primary source research.

For further information go to: https://cornelliar.org/submissions

Final Deadlines:
• Priority: January 31, 2022
• Final: February 20, 2022