Other News

On 6 June, PAIS hosted a lively EU Referendum Debate. At the beginning of the evening, a show of hands indicated a landslide majority in favour of remaining in the EU.

Speaking for ‘Remain’:

Wyn Grant, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Warwick

Lucy Hatton, Researcher, Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

Mike Smith, Professor in European Politics, University of Warwick

Speaking for ‘Leave’:

Lincoln Allison, Emeritus Reader in Politics, University of Warwick and freelance writer and broadcaster

Dave Nellist, National Chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)

Following short presentations by the five panel members, audience members were invited to make comments and ask questions. The question of migration was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most contentious issue of the evening. Other subjects that were discussed included whether the EU has a democratic deficit, what would happen the day after a BREXIT and whether remaining or leaving the EU is the best way to tackle environmental challenges and to build a social Europe.

Many audience members as well as pro-remain panellists were concerned about the negative economic impact of a BREXIT as well as the threats to employment rights posed by a Conservative government with no EU oversight.

The pro-exit panellists were divided between a conservative and a leftist position. The conservative position was sceptical of the economic feasibility of a European project, given the vast differences between the national economies of current member states. The left-exit position argued that the EU is a project for deepening the neoliberal agenda and accused the remain campaign of failing to discuss the negative impacts of austerity on working class families.

At the end of the evening, a show of hands indicated that no audience members had changed their minds!

Listen to the debate here:

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey closes on Thursday June 16^th

If you fill in the survey, PAIS will add £5 to your eating@warwick account. Once we hit a response rate of 80% the department will conduct a prize draw for an ipad mini.

Fill in the survey and find out more about the PTES at: www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/academicoffice/gsp/surveys/ptes

NEW BOOK at LUNCHTIME seminar:

Critical Imagination in International Relations (2016)

7th June (Tue), 12.30-14.00, E0.23

Free, and all welcome. Join us for a sandwich lunch at E0.23 from 12:30, with discussion from 13:00-14:00. No booking required, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  

What concepts are there to challenge the state-centrism in IR? The new book, Critical Imaginations in International Relations (2016), offers 16 different concepts to address the limitations of a state-centred approach and explore different possibilities to engage with international relations beyond the state-centrism.

Four speakers from Warwick will focus on the following key concepts discussed in the book, together with the editors of the book, Aoileann Ní Mhurchú (Manchester University) and Reiko Shindo (University of Warwick).

Citizenship: Thom Davies (Research Fellow, Department of Sociology)
Resistance: Chris Rossdale (Teaching Fellow, PAIS)
Space: Antonio Ferranz De Oliveira (PhD candidate, PAIS)
Subjectivity: Mara Duer (PhD candidate, PAIS)

PAIS researcher Lucy Hatton was interviewed live on Sky News on Wednesday 25 May about the European Parliament and the upcoming EU referendum. Related to her PhD research, which considered issues of participation and democracy in the EU, Lucy was invited to discuss the role of the European Parliament in EU democracy and its impact on the UK.

Asked about the idea that the European Parliament imposes laws on the British people, Lucy highlighted that British citizens are represented in the European Parliament by their directly elected MEPs, who have as much influence over decisions made in the Parliament as MEPs from any other EU member state. She added that it is therefore difficult to understand the use of the term 'impose' unless it is also suggested that the British Parliament imposes its laws on parts of the UK.

Lucy, who is also an Early Career Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies here at Warwick, will be appearing on the panel at PAIS's EU Referendum Debate on 6 June (for more information on the debate, see the web page here). She is also blogging about the EU referendum at https://eurefwithlucy.wordpress.com/ .

We are delighted that the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) has moved up to 4th place (out of 78) in the latest Guardian rankings, which measure student satisfaction, career prospects, and teaching quality:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2016/may/23/university-league-tables-2017#S350

The University of Warwick is ranked 9th overall and PAIS is the 3rd= highest performing Department at Warwick. A full press release can be found here:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/guardian_newspaper_ranks

Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Head of PAIS, commented:

"PAIS is an international community of lively, questioning, and curious minds studying some of the most pressing issues in global politics today. Our position in The Guardian builds on recent success in other national league tables – notably 3^rd place in The Times/Sunday Times and 4^th place in the Complete University Guide. In short, we are now unequivocally in the Top 5 of all UK rankings.”