Other News

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).

• 20 x £20 and 1 x £100 Love2Shop vouchers released once we hit a 50% response rate
• 20 x £20 and 1 x £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 10 minutes to complete. Your feedback matters and makes a huge difference to PAIS as shown on our You Said We Did page.

Date: Monday, 6th February

Time: 12:15-13:30

Place: R1.03, Ramphal Building

In the study of China’s foreign affairs, historians like to suggest that the past is always present. A ‘Century of Humiliation’ in the nineteenth century or fighting the Japanese in the 1930s and 1940s are often referenced. Yet another historic development, namely China’s development of nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s, is often absent from this assessment. In contrast to many other nuclear weapons states, China has largely been quiet about its nuclear past. Only in the last years of former leader Hu Jintao (2003-2012) and now the current leader, Xi Jinping (2013-) has China started to commemorate its nuclear weapons development more seriously. This paper sets out to understand both the nature and timing of this commemoration within China but also the wider implications of nuclear commemoration for regional and international security. Ultimately, under Xi Jinping, China’s nuclear past is finally becoming present.

Dr Nicola Leveringhaus is Senior Lecturer in East Asian Security and International Relations at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. Dr Leveringhaus specialises in nuclear weapons issues in Northeast Asia, especially related to China. She has lectured at Sheffield University (2015-16) and was a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2012-15) at the University of Oxford. She has been a Senior Visiting Scholar at Tsinghua University; and a Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. She holds an MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies and DPhil in International Relations from St. Antony's College, Oxford. Her second book China and Global Nuclear Order, from Estrangement to Active Engagement was nominated for the 2017 ECPR Hedley Bull Prize.

ONLINE EVENT – 8th February 2023, 17:00-18:30

Presented by BREM – Borders, Race, Ethnicity and Migration Network

Join the meeting using this link on the day of the discussion: https://bit.ly/3WzTbFR

Thom Tyerman will discuss his book Everyday Border Struggles: Segregation and Solidarity in the UK and Calais with Ana Aliverti (University of Warwick) and Joe Turner (University of York)

In an age of mobility, borders appear to be everywhere. Encountered more and more in our everyday lives, borders locally enact global divisions and inequalities of power, wealth, and identity. From the Calais ‘jungle’ to the UK’s ‘hostile environment’ policy, this book examines how borders in the UK and Calais operate through everyday practices of segregation. At the same time, it reveals how border segregation is challenged and resisted by everyday practices of ‘migrant solidarity’ among people on the move and no borders activists. In doing so, it explores how everyday borders are key sites of struggles over and against postcolonial and racialised global inequalities. This talk will be of interest to scholars and students working on migration, borders, and citizenship as well as practitioners and organisers in migrant rights, asylum advocacy, and anti-detention or deportation campaigns.

The Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus, also referred to as the triple nexus, is the latest approach to improving the outcomes of humanitarian interventions through coordination and integration of cross-sectoral programming. This talk will consider the dilemmas and challenges for large-scale international operations adopting a triple nexus approach. The presentation will draw on personal experiences of large-scale international interventions in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan.

Dr Roberts will also be willing to answer questions on her career trajectory from PhD to international development consultant.

When? Tuesday 24 January 2023, 5-6.30pm
Where? Oculus, OC0.05

This is an in-person event and all are welcome.

About the speaker: Rebecca Roberts is an Honorary Research Fellow in PAIS. She holds a PhD in Post-war Recovery and International Development and has over 20 years of experience conducting research in conflict-affected countries to inform the policy and practice of national and international responses. She specializes in stabilisation, governance and forced migration and has extensive experience in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia including in Sudan and South Sudan, Lebanon and Afghanistan. She has worked with governments, donors, UN agencies, local and national non-governmental organizations as well as affected populations.

Omer Manhaimer, who graduated in 2022 in Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods, won the European Global Undergraduate Award for his essay ‘Nonviolent action types and state responses: an empirical test’. Please see below for Omer’s brief description of the essay and the GA summit that brought together the winners in different categories. Very many congratulations to Omer.

Omer Manhaimer

Under the patronage of the President of Ireland, The Global Undergraduate Awards is the world’s largest undergraduate awards programme. Winning entries are selected by a panel of 640 judges from over 2,800 entries across 25 subjects. All entries must have received a mark of distinction to be eligible for submission.

Approaching the end of my degree programme—amidst essay deadlines, exams, dissertation writing, and final preparations for my graduate role—a reminder I had set eight months prior reappeared, prompting me to submit an essay to the Global Undergraduate Awards.

I graduated from University of Warwick in July 2022 with BA (Hons) Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods. This PAIS degree programme, run in conjunction with the Q-Step Centre, is unique within the UK social science undergraduate education landscape in its specialised focus on quantitative empirical research. I am very pleased to have been part of a university and a faculty that focus on equipping students with independent and innovative interdisciplinary research tools already at the undergraduate level.

I decided to apply for the Global Undergraduate Awards and submitted a paper that I deemed a paragon of my undergraduate writing. I had originally submitted it for my final-year module SO32Q: Applying Quantitative Methods to Social Research. My essay, "Nonviolent action types and state responses: an empirical test”, assesses the ability of nonviolent action types to explain variation in state responses to nonviolent collective action in Pakistan. In addition to addressing a geographical gap in existing literature, my study employs multinomial logistic models to address a quantitative gap in prior research. It made early findings of a relationship between non-violent action and state responses for protests and political engagement action types.

In September, I was informed that my entry was ‘Highly Commended’. This meant that it was within the top 10% of entries in the Politics and International Relations category. Two weeks later, I was delighted to be announced as European winner for this year. As winner, I was invited to attend the three-day UA Global Summit held in November in Dublin, Ireland. In addition, my paper will be published on UA’s Undergraduate Library.

The Summit was held at Blackhall Place, home to the Law Society of Ireland. During the Summit, winners had the opportunity to present their research findings. It was fascinating to learn about my peers’ innovative research in various disciplines, and exciting to see their dedication to their respective subject areas. My appreciation of interdisciplinarity has only crystallised as my fascination often turned into interesting conversations. It was great to be challenged to consider the implications of my research by those that study seemingly far-removed subjects.

In addition, we were able to listen to insights from various keynote speakers and engage in breakout workshops. The Summit also included a wine reception, a visit to the Jameson Distillery, and a Gala Dinner at King’s Inns. Attendees represented many countries and institutions, so it was great to form strong bonds with people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Finally, it was my first time visiting Dublin—a city with rich culture and history—which made this experience all the more enjoyable.

Winning this award is a culmination of several years of rigorous training in independent quantitative political research. To be recognised on a global scale is truly fulfilling, and I am thankful to the Global Undergraduate Awards for this opportunity. This achievement would not have come to fruition without the support of the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as the Warwick Q-Step Centre and the Department of Politics and International Studies. Through enrichment opportunities and events, like Q-Step Masterclasses and the Research Assistant program that I was fortunate to engage with, I was constantly pushed toward academic excellence at Warwick. For that, I am very grateful.

You can learn more about the Global Undergraduate Awards on their website.