Other News
In Memoriam: Alexander Paul
Everyone in PAIS, and the wider University, are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Alexander Paul. Alex was an undergraduate student here in PAIS. Alex's funeral took place on June 20.
Alex was an incredible student who will be sadly missed by all the students and staff of PAIS. Many students have spoken about the huge impact he had on their lives. They have spoken, in particular, of his kindness, his bravery, how he always made others feel good about themselves, and his desire to help those from less fortunate backgrounds.
Nick Vaughan-Williams,Head of Department, PAIS
Alex made a huge impact on the department as a whole – both through his studies, and through his work as a PAIS student ambassador. Alex was a lead item on our news pages (and in the national press!) at the very start of his studies through his speech at a party conference on the disproportionate amount of stop and search routines carried against Black and Asian males. Alex believed in the power of education to inspire. He was well known across campus for his energy and positivity, and his talents as a spoken word artist and performer. Alex achieved so much and we will all really miss him.
Dr Justin Greaves, Director of Student Experience and Progression and Professor Matthew Clayton, Departmental Senior Tutor, PAIS
If you knew Alex and are affected by this news, there is a range of University support available to you. The gives more details about support available, or you can contact the team on 024 765 75570, internal extension 75570, or by visiting their offices on the ground floor of University House.
PAIS PhD Candidate Writes Blog on the Underrepresentation of Women at the Highest Political Level
PAIS PhD Candidate, Columba Achilleos-Sarll, has written a blog for UCL titled "Where are the Women at the Big Boys’ Table?"
After a year of political flux and upheaval, the Brexit negotiations officially began on Monday 19June. The underrepresentation of women at the highest political level is one thing which appears to have remained constant. Columba Achilleos-Sarll, a PhD candidate at the 天美传媒, points out that only one and two women make up the UK and EU negotiating teams respectively. She assesses the impact that this could have on the process, and what it means more broadly.
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Dr Gabriel Siles-Brügge awarded Parliamentary Academic Fellowships
Two 天美传媒 researchers have been awarded Parliamentary Academic Fellowships, as part of a new scheme that offers academics the opportunity to work on projects in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
of PAIS is supporting and advising the House of Commons International Trade Committee in its remit to scrutinise the work of the Department for International Trade, including the implementation of new trade agreements post-Brexit. This involves advising the Committee on effective lines of inquiry, producing briefings and reviewing evidence received in inquiries.
, of Economics, is working with the House of Commons Health Committee to scrutinise the Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan. This includes examining how effectively it has been implemented to date, and reviewing the evidence base on options to address childhood obesity that were not included in the original strategy.
The is organised by the in collaboration with ESRC and EPSRC Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs). Six Fellowships linked to IAAs were awarded in total to academics from UK universities.
As well as enabling researchers to work on policy-relevant projects within Parliament, the scheme provides the opportunity to learn how research feeds into the policy-making process and to develop lasting connections with decision-makers.
Dr Siles-Brügge’s and Dr Van Rens’ Fellowships are supported by the .
Multiple BISA awards won by PAIS colleagues
PAIS is delighted to congratulate Drs Erzsebet Strausz and Jakub Eberle for their recent successes in winning British International Studies Association (BISA) Awards. Founded in 1975, BISA is a learned society which develops and promotes the study of International Studies, Global Politics and related subjects through teaching, research and the facilitation of contact between scholars. We are thrilled to announce Erzsebet's achievement in winning the BISA 'Excellence in Teaching International Studies' Prize for 2017, and Jakub's success in being awarded the Michael Nicholson Prize for best doctoral thesis.
Jakub, a Doctoral Researcher in PAIS, has been awarded the Michael Nicholson Prize for the best doctoral thesis in International Studies, for his thesis: 'Logics of Foreign Policy: Germany and International Interventions'. The judges remarked upon intense competition between excellent PhD theses for the award, but ultimately Jakub emerged as the winner given the strength of his psychoanalytical interrogation of German foreign policy logic and for how his thesis draws out the implications of the study for wider questions of foreign policy. Congratulations to Jakub, and to his supervisors Dr Chris Browning and Professor Stuart Croft.
We are also thrilled to celebrate the achievement of Dr Erzsebet Strausz, an Assistant Professor in PAIS, who has been awarded the 'Excellence in Teaching International Studies' Prize of 2017. The judging committee were unanimous in their verdict that Erzsebet should be awarded the title, remarking upon the incredible strength and depth of her pedagogical statement, as well as the extremely evident positive impact Erzsebet has upon her students during her teaching practice. Congratulations Erzsebet!
Call for Papers for an Academic Workshop: “Diasporas and Challenges to Statehood in the Middle East and North Africa”
This workshop is organized as part of a larger conference "Diasporas and Contested Sovereignty: Lessons Learned about Transnational Diaspora Mobilizations in Europe” on 28-29 September, 2017 at Warwick University, and is sponsored by the European Research Council.
The workshop seeks to consolidate scholarly discussions about the role of diasporas linked to the Middle East and North Africa from the Global North and South, and to move on from initial consideration of diasporas as simply conflict or peace actors. It will look into broader conflict and postconflict dynamics, where a variety of domestic and international actors influence political processes, and endorse or challenge weak states, their governance or international recognition. When do diasporas mobilize with their loyalties towards sectarian or nationalist factions, and when do they do so on the basis of citizenship and cosmopolitan ideas? When and how do they seek transitional justice for past atrocities and what is the role of trauma for their mobilizations? How do original home-states in the Middle East and North Africa and non-state actors operating on their territories reach out to diasporas abroad? When do diasporas sympathize with their causes or when do they oppose them? How do contexts of host-states and spaces within and beyond them, as well as liberal and non-liberal regimes shape diaspora mobilizations?
If you are interested to participate, please send a paper abstract of max. 300 words by 10 July, 2017 to Dr. Maria Koinova, PI of the ERC project “Diasporas and Contested Sovereignty” at m.koinova@warwick.ac.uk.