Search

Begin New Search Topic Elections Political Geography Europe

41. New political equations in Europe one year before the European elections

Author:
Pascale Joannin
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
Europe is facing a situation that it never thought it would have to face again: there is now a war on its borders, whereas since 1950 the European project has been built on peace ("Never again"), and as a result the return of power struggles which is forcing Europe to adapt its rules so that it can remain relevant in the global competition. In these circumstances, the European elections of spring 2024 (6-9 June) represent a political opportunity to assert and strengthen Europe's place and weight on the international scene. This election will be the starting point for an almost complete renewal of the European institutions with the appointment of the Commission and the designation of a new President of the European Council. Therefore, a crucial political year lies ahead[1]. What does the political landscape in Europe look like one year before this major electoral event?
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Citizenship, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

42. What majority coalition is possible in Poland following the parliamentary elections on 15 October?

Author:
Corinne Deloy
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
On 8 August, the President of the Republic, Andrzej Duda (PiS), announced that the next parliamentary elections in Poland would be held on 15 October next. The Polish people will be called upon to renew the 460 MPs of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, and the 100 members of the Senate, the upper house. Poland has been governed since 2015 by the Law and Justice party (PiS). Mateusz Morawiecki has been Prime Minister since 2017. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a member of the Sejm who is considered to be the country's true leader, recently returned to the government because of divisions and tensions in his camp, according to political scientist Kazimierz Kik. In 2015, the PiS formed the "United Right" coalition with Poland's outgoing justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, and a number of independent figures, which is in the running for the 2023 elections. It hopes to win a third term at the head of the country, which would be a first in the history of democratic Poland. PiS can count on a solid electoral base, particularly in the medium-sized towns and villages in the south-east and centre of the country. Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party led by former Prime Minister (2007-2014) and former President of the European Council (2014-2019) Donald Tusk, appeals to voters in large cities and to people who are tired of the PiS's intransigence, particularly on societal issues, and worried about Poland's isolation on the international stage. According to the opinion poll carried out by the IBRIS/Onet institute on 13 September, the United Right coalition is expected to come out ahead in the elections with 33.3% of the vote, outstripping the Citizens' Coalition, organised around Civic Platform and 3 other parties - Modern, The Greens (Z), Polish Initiative (iPL) - which is expected to win 26.4% of the vote. The Left, which comprises several parties, is expected to come third with 11.1%. The Third Way coalition (Trzecia Droga), which includes two centrist parties (Poland 2050 and the Polish Coalition), is forecast to win 10.2%, just ahead of the Freedom and Independence Confederation, an ultra-nationalist and liberal party, with 11.1%. On the face of it, neither the United Right coalition nor the Citizens' Coalition would be able to secure an absolute majority in the Sejm. There is a very real risk that the parliamentary ballot will result in a "hung parliament", as was the case after the elections on 25 October 2015, which led to new parliamentary vote being held in 2017. Inflation and the cost of living are the most important issues for the majority of Poles (35%), followed by national security (22%).
Topic:
Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, and Parliament
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

43. Europe's locally elected representatives, key players in the ecological transition

Author:
Ferréol Delmas
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
Firstly to understand how, through the European prism, it is possible to combine ecological transition and the empowerment of local elected representatives based on subsidiarity, it would be useful to reflect on the foundations of European integration. According to this approach, a central authority can only take on tasks if they cannot be carried out at a lower level. It is a fundamental principle of European law that could, in ecological terms, become the spearhead of a better environmental understanding by European citizens and a tool for our leaders. In practical terms, subsidiarity is a philosophical principle based on Aristotle's view that society is made up of interlocking groups, each of which performs specific tasks and provides for its own needs. As Chantal Delsol, a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques, puts it, “according to Aristotle, each group works to meet the unfulfilled requirements of the sphere immediately below it in importance". This vision is perpetuated in the Christian heritage with the vision of Saint Thomas Aquinas, for whom the life of the City must be organised on the basis of subsidiarity. In the same vein, the construction of Europe by Christian democrats such as Robert Schuman, founding father and President of the European Parliament from 1958 to 1960, can be understood in terms of this rule. In the European Union, the principle of subsidiarity is cardinal, as specified in Article 5-3 TEU.
Topic:
Climate Change, Elections, Energy, and Green Transition
Political Geography:
Europe

44. Becoming political: How marching suffragists facilitated women's electoral participation in England

Author:
Mona Morgan-Collins and Valeria Rueda
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
Previous research identifies that women politicians facilitate other women’s political participation. Can women’s political activism also spur women’s electoral participation? Through the study of the British suffragists, we argue that women activists paved the way for other women’s political participation at the time when women politicians were virtually absent. Constructing a novel micro-level dataset of geocoded data from electoral registers, we leverage a unique historical case of the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Pilgrimage. Using a Differences-in-Differences strategy that compares polling divisions based on the proximity to the Pilgrimage across England, we provide evidence that exposure to the suffragists marching for parliamentary suffrage increased registration of women eligible to vote in local elections. Analyzing contemporary news articles, we then document the pathways through which the suffragists incited other women’s political interest and therefore electoral participation. These findings have implications for the realization of substantive representation after suffrage.
Topic:
History, Elections, Women, Suffrage, Political Participation, and Politicians
Political Geography:
Europe and England

45. Governing in Hard Times Conference: The UK Economy

Author:
Colm Murphy, Seema Malhotra, Diane Coyle, and Jeevun Sandher
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In the first of four thematic sessions on the urgent political and policy questions facing British politics ahead of the next general election, this panel considered how a centre-left government could maintain macroeconomic credibility, while also achieving its policy goals. It considered what institutional and political relationships it would have to renew - with trade unions, organised business, the City, and others - the appeal of 'Bidenomics' and how radical the next Chancellor of the Exchequer will be able to be. Chair: Dr Colm Murphy (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Panel: Seema Malhotra MP (MP for Feltham and Heston and Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers) Professor Diane Coyle (Co-Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge) Dr Jeevun Sandher (Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate for Loughborough)
Topic:
Politics, Elections, Economy, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

46. In Conversation with the Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP

Author:
David Lammy and Marie Le Conte
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On Thursday 9 March, the Mile End Institute welcomed the Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP, to ‪@QMUL‬. In a wide-ranging conversation with Marie Le Conte, David reflected on his early life, becoming the first black Briton to graduate from Harvard Law School and over two decades as the MP for Tottenham. He also took stock of the ongoing war in Ukraine, outlined his vision for the UK's foreign policy if the Labour Party win the next election, and reflected on being one of the few members of the Shadow Cabinet to have served in government before.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Government, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Labour Party
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

47. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Women's Political Careers in Britain and Around the World

Author:
Lyndsey Jenkins, Minna Cowper-Coles, and Sofia Collignon
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marks a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, introduced by Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, Dr Sofia Collignon talks to Dr Minna Cowper-Coles about her comparative research on the motivations, challenges, and experiences of women political leaders around the world. Sofia highlights that women leaders are typically highly professionalised, highly skilled, and highly experienced, and notes that 63 per cent have a Masters degree or PhD.
Topic:
Elections, Women, Domestic Politics, and Representation
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and Global Focus

48. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Mary Honeyball on the life and times of Edith Summerskill MP

Author:
Mary Honeyball
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marks a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, the former Labour MEP, Mary Honeyball, presents her new biography of Edith Summerskill, the 'Pioneering Feminist Labour MP', who served in Clement Attlee's government and oversaw the creation of the National Insurance Scheme. Mary discusses how Summerskill's campaigning was instrumental in promoting women's causes throughout her life and reflects on her achievements in securing equal rights for housewives and divorced women over property.
Topic:
Politics, History, Elections, Women, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

49. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Keynote by Khursheed Wadia - 'Becoming Muslim women becoming political'

Author:
Khursheed Wadia
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marks a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Professor Khursheed Wadia delivers a keynote lecture, entitled 'Becoming Muslim women becoming political'. Khursheed analyses women in the British Muslim community's political engagement through the postwar period and describes a 'hidden history' of Muslim women's activism on picket lines, in anti-poverty campaigns and in community networks. She argues that academics should pay more attention to community activism to fully capture the diversity of women's political engagement in the second half of the twentieth century.
Topic:
Elections, Women, Political Participation, Activism, and Muslims
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

50. The 2024 elections in Russia, the EU, and the US: International implications and impacts on the war in Ukraine

Author:
Jussi Lassila, Maria Lindén, and Henrik Müller
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
In 2024, elections will be held in Russia, the European Union, and the United States. The elections will carry implications not only for the domestic politics of these three polities but also for the international arena, including the war in Ukraine. While the Russian presidential election lacks any democratic credibility, Vladimir Putin’s confirmation may encourage him to pursue an even more aggressive military policy. However, this would still be a domestic political risk, and Putin’s primary expectation is that Western aid to Ukraine will wane. The European Parliament elections are expected to result in a surge of far-right parties, but the EU’s decentralized power structures and consensus-based procedures make sudden political changes unlikely. Enlargement policy will be high on the EU’s agenda in the next legislative period. In the US, the presidential and congressional elections will see a clash between two very different visions for both domestic and foreign policy. The consequences will be drastically different depending on the outcome of the elections.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Elections, European Union, Domestic Politics, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and United States of America