Extending human and civic rights
Europe’s war on migrants – while we argue, thousands perish in the Mediterranean
Recent weeks have seen the full extent of the consequences of withdrawing the Mediterranean Mare Nostrum patrols for migrant boats, with thousands dying since the EU affected the policy change. Heaven Crawley argues that its time for the rest of Europe to follow Italy’s lead and act on the crisis, instead of pursuing endless talks […]
Irregular migration in the Mediterranean: four key principles for solving the crisis
With over 1,000 migrants in the Mediterranean feared dead following a series of incidents in recent weeks, EU Foreign and Interior Ministers agreed on an action plan on 20 April for addressing the crisis. Anna Triandafyllidou writes on the key elements underpinning the problem and outlines four key elements that a new strategic approach should […]
Muslims continue to be less accepted than other minorities in Britain
Muslims in Britain are often the subject of scorn, derision, and fear, with the press and populist politicians frequently linking Islam with terrorism or other crimes. Ingrid Storm considers the reasons why prejudice, in what is often described as an open and tolerant nation, continues to disadvantage Muslims in the UK. Credit: Lee Dad, CC BY NC 2.0 […]
Britain’s voting system is partially responsible for holding back women’s representation
The proportion of women elected to parliament in the UK remains low compared to other countries. In this post, Chris Terry examines the gender balance of parliamentary candidates for the upcoming election, and concludes that some progress is being made. Nevertheless, he suggests switching to a system of proportional representation would increase the descriptive representation […]
The glass cliff: Evidence that women and ethnic minorities contest “hopeless” seats
Are women and ethnic minorities set up to fail when they run in UK General Elections? Clara Kulich from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) presents findings from collaborative research with colleagues at the University of Exeter (UK) and the University of Queensland (Australia) which show that in past UK General Elections (2001 to 2010) women and […]
Since the Snowden revelations, more people have joined the discussion on digital rights, but change requires more than conversation
In recent years, the Snowden revelations and debates in the UK and US around the scope of government surveillance have brought the issue of privacy in the digital age a greater audience than ever before. Hanane Boujemi argues that society must change its attitude to where boundaries lie if rights are to be meaningfully protected in […]
The people think it’s good to talk about how they are governed
Underestimating the public’s interest in being involved in discussions about the UK’s constitutional future is a mistake, find Jan Eichhorn and Daniel Kenealy in a wide-ranging survey. Moreover, when asked how decisions should be made about how England should be governed, the most popular option in all regions of England was to hold a referendum. Similar […]
Democracy Barometer: a new approach to evaluating the quality of democratic systems
How do we assess the quality of democracy in democratic systems? Like Democratic Audit UK, the Democracy Barometer team are interested in going beyond the headline fact of whether systems are democratic or not, and assessing the subtle differences that affect the quality of democracy from a citizen perspective. Here, Marc Bühlmann, Lea Heyne, Wolfgang Merkel, Lisa Müller, […]
Societies should not have to choose whether to grant the wishes of either religious groups or of women
It has often been said that gender equality and religion are at odds, with religious justifications at times used to justify discriminatory policies against women, so what kind of political arrangements could guarantee religious women’s rights and full social inclusion, asks Kristin Aune. Similar PostsBritain’s ‘Christian right’: seeking solace in a narrative of discriminationIt’s time for an […]
The Conservatives’ BME MPs may be game changers in the way we think about ethnic minority representation
It has long been assumed that the ethnicity of voters will translate into ethnicity of candidates; and that ethnicity of MPs will in turn improve the representation of BME interests in Westminster. But is this the case? Maria Sobolewska argues that the recent increase in BME candidates for the Conservative Party may be a ‘game changer’ […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.