Social inequalities fuel a debate about the meaning of political equality. Formal procedural equality is criticised for reproducing discriminatory outcomes against disadvantaged groups but affirmative action, particularly in the form of group quotas, is also contested. When opposing conceptions of substantive equality support divergent views about which procedural rule genuinely respects political equality, democracies cannot…Continue Reading Progressive constitutional deliberation: Political equality, social inequalities and democracy’s legitimacy challenge
Category: Political Engagement
The Brexit deal and UK fisheries—has reality matched the rhetoric?
Fisheries management has been a strongly contested aspect of the UK’s position in the EU since UK accession, with the fishing industry frequently questioning both the efficacy and fairness of arrangements. During the campaign for UK exit (Brexit) from the EU, and the subsequent negotiations of a new legal and political relationship from 2016 to…Continue Reading The Brexit deal and UK fisheries—has reality matched the rhetoric?
Culture Wars in the Post-Soviet Space
In the last decade the term culture war has become hard to avoid. If it is not yet the buzzword of the first part of the twenty-first century, it soon will be. Culture wars seem to be around us everywhere. Each passing week brings some new mention of an outbreak in a public institution, civic space or political arena in some part of the globe….Continue Reading Culture Wars in the Post-Soviet Space
Want: Still the easiest giant to attack?
Beveridge claimed that ‘want’ was ‘in some ways the easiest [giant] to attack’ and yet 80 years after his report was published, poverty persists and indeed, has been increasing in recent years. In this article, we review both the key features of the Beveridge Report in relation to poverty and its implementation by the Labour government 1945–51, before…Continue Reading Want: Still the easiest giant to attack?
Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia
The Central Asia Program invites you to the book launch event Wednesday, September 22, 2021 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (EST) The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia offers the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary overview of key issues in Central Asian studies. The 30 chapters by leading and emerging scholars summarise major findings in the field and highlight…Continue Reading Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia
Conceptualising Culture Wars in the Post-Communist Space: Latvia, the Istanbul Convention and the Struggle for Power
This essay establishes a framework for analysing culture wars in the post-communist space. Using Latvia’s debate over the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on violence against women, it outlines the central features of culture wars: moralisation, externalisation of agency, the instrumentalisation of culture and the struggle for power and resources. While existing scholarship conceptualises culture…Continue Reading Conceptualising Culture Wars in the Post-Communist Space: Latvia, the Istanbul Convention and the Struggle for Power
Parliamentary committees and witness diversity
Issues of diversity in elected bodies have been highlighted in recent years, primarily around the characteristics of elected representatives, but more recently in respect of the treatment of those working in such institutions, particularly women. However, it is also important to consider who parliaments hear from, with one important element of that being the work…Continue Reading Parliamentary committees and witness diversity
Enhancing Policy Engagement: Collaboration and Capacity Building
In 2020-21 the University was allocated £117,000 from Research England’s QR Strategic Priorities Fund (QR SPF). A key aim of QR SPF is to support universities to link effectively with policy research priorities and opportunities, from the local to the international. With support from the College Research Office, I coordinated the distribution of the funds….Continue Reading Enhancing Policy Engagement: Collaboration and Capacity Building
Voice, equality and education: the role of higher education in defining the political participation of young Europeans
Much attention has been paid by academics and policy-makers in recent decades to declining levels of voter turnout and engagement with traditional political and social institutions in established democracies. These trends are particularly marked amongst young people. Drawing on data from the European Social Survey, this article examines the role of higher education (HE) both…Continue Reading Voice, equality and education: the role of higher education in defining the political participation of young Europeans