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An essay written by PAIS Undergraduate Alp Katalan Nasi has been "Highly Commended" at the Undergraduate Awards. The essay, written for Politics of International Development, was ranked in the top 10% from over 400 global submissions in the Politics and IR section. The essay was titled: "Why Do Countries Give Aid? A Case ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Swedish Benevolence".

You can find the list of "Highly Commended" contestants here:

Having just returned from my year abroad in Hong Kong, it is great to be recognised for the work I had done at ¹û¶³´«Ã½. My teachers played a key role as I found it inspiring to learn about international development from such an enthusiastic lecturer like Ben Richardson.

My essay explored why countries give aid, with a special focus on Sweden as a case study. I really enjoyed exploring this through various angles - social reasons, economic incentives, and political motivations - using various lenses of IR theory. I hope to continue exploring development issues, especially those associated with energy and the environment, in my further studies.

I am honoured to represent not just the PAIS department, but the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ overall at the Undergraduate Awards. I will be a part of the UA Alumni Network, as well as publish my essay on the Undergraduate Library, which is a fantastic personal achievement!

- Alp Katalan Nasi

Congratulations Alp!

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:

We are delighted to announce that the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) is ranked 3^rd out of 81 UK Politics departments in the ; a position we have now held for three years in a row. This influential national league table reflects latest data on student satisfaction (NSS), research excellence, and a range of other indicators.

We are particularly proud to see that PAIS is ranked 1^st for student experience and 2^nd for teaching quality among the elite Russell Group of UK Politics departments.

The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is ranked 9th overall — a full University press release can be found .

Our latest position in The Times/The Sunday Times follows on recent successes in other national league tables – notably 3rd place in The Guardian University Guide 2018 and 4th in The Complete University Guide 2018 — cementing our position as one of the very best Politics departments in the UK.

We thank all staff and students who have contributed to this impressive and sustained achievement. With a number of exciting and ambitious plans for the 2017/18 academic year and beyond, we look forward to building on these successes in the months and years ahead.

James Brassett, Juanita Elias, Lena Rethel, Ben Richardson and Luke Bantock have launched a new website for teaching IPE. The site is called and uses familiar objects and practices as routes into the discipline.

The site is open access and features 29 contributions from leading scholars in IPE and cognate fields. Funding support was provided by IATL and PAIS.

We are delighted to announce that the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) and the Department of Economics are hosting a ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Question Time on the hot topic of Globalisation and Anti-globalisation. It will take place on Monday 2^nd October, 6.15-7.45pm, in Butterworth Hall. By joining together it means we can put on the biggest and best event possible and ensure PAIS students can take full advantage of the opportunity. Based on student feedback it is clear you would like more events of this kind and we are looking forwarding to starting off the 2017 academic year in such an exciting way.

The format is very similar to the popular BBC television show and it will allow an engagement with politicians, policy informers, academics and broadcasters. The event will have a real PAIS flavour, both in terms of the topic area and in the Chair of the Panel:

The panellists will be:

• Professor Kate Williams – Historian and Broadcaster
• Chris White – MP for ¹û¶³´«Ã½ and Leamington, 2010-2017
• Katy Chakrabortty- Head of Advocacy, Oxfam GB
• Samira Ahmed – Award Winning Journalist and Broadcaster
• Dr Dennis Novy – Associate Professor of Economics
• Dr Faiza Shaheen – Director of CLASS

The Panel will be Chaired by Trevor McCrisken, Associate Professor in PAIS

More details and a registration form can be found . Please do register asap to ensure your place. We look forward to seeing you there!