Other News
The President of Malta addresses PAIS students at The Shard
On 23 November Her Excellency Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, The President of Malta and Honorary Professor in PAIS, gave a lecture entitled ‘Ensuring Equity: The Importance of Wealth Distribution in a Globalised World’.
Introduced by Nick Vaughan-Williams, Head of PAIS, Her Excellency spoke of the escalation in inequality, discrimination, and poverty globally, and argued for sustainable investment in human rights and dignity. She called for students to be activists in support of the transformations required for more equitable patterns of wealth distribution. Before becoming the 9th President of the Republic of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca served as an MP in the Maltese National Parliament and is former Minister of State for the Family and Social Solidarity. In 2016 Her Excellency received the ‘Agent of Change’ award, conferred by the United Nations, in recognition of her work as a champion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Mediterranean region.
Photos from the event can be found on Her Excellency's and the President's features commentary of her lecture.
The full text of Her Excellency’s lecture at The Shard can be found in the following press release:

New PSA Prize named in recognition of PAIS Professor
We are delighted to announce that the UK Political Studies Association has launched a new prize in recognition of Professor Shirin Rai’s "significant contributions to the discipline of feminist International Relations and International Political Economy."
The Shirin M. Rai dissertation prize, for the best dissertation in International Relations, has now officially been launched. A blog announcing the PSA’s new framework for prizes and awards, and further information about the application process, can be accessed here: .
While many professional associations name prizes after those who have retired, the PSA’s new framework is designed to acknowledge active and leading scholars in the discipline; very many congratulations to Shirin on this hugely impressive accolade, which is yet further recognition of her leading status in the discipline and an important projection of PAIS’ standing in the field.
¹û¶³´«Ã½ Politics Society talk with Baroness D'Souza
The Politics Society recently hosted Baroness D'Souza, former Lord Speaker, who discussed her vision for the House of Lords.
The event was filmed by RaW and is available to view below:
After her talk, she also was interviewed by RaW, you can find the link for the interview .
Annual IPE Lecture: Both Sides, Now: Paradigms, Power, Psychology, and Pragmatism at the Midpoint of Crisis
Annual IPE Lecture: Both Sides, Now: Paradigms, Power, Psychology, and Pragmatism at the Midpoint of Crisis
Wesley Widmaier, Griffith University, Australia
2nd November, 17:00-18:30, MS.04 (Zeeman Building)
This year's Annual IPE Lecture offers an overview of IPE and IR debates on ideas, crises and change from a social psychological constructivist perspective. Wes Widmaier is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University. His research interests include International Political Economy, International Relations Theory, in particular constructivist thought, and the specific role of wars and crises as mechanisms of large-scale change. Wes is also the editor-in-chief of the Review of International Political Economy.
Europe in Question Round Table: The Changing Electoral Landscape of Europe
The European Union is experiencing considerable turbulence, both in the domestic politics of its member states and in its international environment. A key characteristic of this turbulence are the close linkages between what is seen as ‘domestic’, ‘European’ and ‘international’, with many tensions and disputes rooted in at least two of these domains. This round table event is designed to explore these linkages and their political consequences with a focus on one area of concern: the impact of national electoral change on the broader European order.
In an integrated and interdependent Europe, it is no longer possible to see national elections as purely national events: they are subject to forces and pressures of a transnational and broader international nature as well as those generated at local, regional and national levels. Recently, there has been considerable attention to the impact of ‘transnational nationalism’ and of populist movements in key European elections. During 2017, there has been a cluster of important elections within the EU, particularly those in the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, which have been replete with potential implications at the European level.
In this round table, we focus on the ways in which key national elections have reflected, reinforced or resisted processes of transnational populism, and on the implications of the results for the broader European order. Speakers will present a range of views focusing on the recent elections in the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, and will evaluate their implications in comparative and transnational perspective.
The event is scheduled to take place from 6-8pm in MS0.04, Zeeman Building, on Thursday 19th October, followed by a reception.
Speakers:
Dr. Renske Doorenspleet, ¹û¶³´«Ã½
Professor Helen Drake, Loughborough University
Dr. Andreas Murr, ¹û¶³´«Ã½
Professor William Paterson, Aston University
Chair:
Professor Michael Smith, PAIS
For speaker biographies, and to register your attendance, please go to: