Informing and engaging citizens
The question is not whether Brexit will cost the UK in economic terms, but how much
For over two years, a research team at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) has been studying the likely impact of the UK leaving the European Union. Their latest report focuses on the impact of ‘Brexit’ through changing trade patterns. Under ‘optimistic’ assumptions, there is a fall in national income of 1.3 per cent (about £850 per household). Under […]
Five minutes with Srdja Popović and Yogendra Yadav: “Every non-violent struggle supports the same principle – it becomes efficient the moment people take it personally”
In January, Serbian activist Srdja Popović and Indian academic-turned-anti-corruption campaigner Yogendra Yadav both spoke at the LSE India Summit 2016. During a pause in the conference, they met to discuss political theory and the practicalities of fostering non-violent mass movements in the 21st Century. Similar PostsBook Review: Networked Publics and Digital Contention: The Politics of Everyday […]
Incomplete Europeans: Polish migrants’ experience of discrimination in the UK is complicated by their whiteness
Although Central-East Europeans have officially been a part of the EU for more than a decade, they have not been completely embraced. This is especially true in the UK. Yet this topic has remained very much on the sidelines of the Brexit debate. Dagmar Myslinska’s research on Polish migrants brings a better understanding of the circular, temporal, and open-ended nature of free movement which has affected […]
Research from Bulgaria shows that in their coverage of elections, the media promote the views of the main contenders
Information presented by the media during election campaign helps voters choose among political contenders and the policy alternatives that they propose. Research, presented here by Petia Kostadinova, on media coverage of election pledges in Bulgaria demonstrates that unlike in established democracies, few of the specific promised made by political parties are reported in the news. Those that […]
A Brexit could make it easier for Scotland to join the EU as an independent state
One of the key issues in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence was the question of how an independent Scotland could join the EU and whether it would retain the same membership terms as the UK. Merijn Chamon and Guillaume Van der Loo revisit the issue in light of the UK’s upcoming referendum on EU membership. […]
‘Coupling’ – the relationships between different democratic institutions and practices – needs champions who can make elites think differently
A significant shortcoming in today’s deliberative systems is that citizens are largely disconnected from a host of elite sites of public deliberation. Here, Carolyn Hendricks explores the concept of ‘coupling’ as a means to better link citizens and elites in deliberative systems. Similar PostsAustralian politics shows why the de-separation of political and administrative careers matters for democracyDigital campaigning […]
If we want to improve young voter engagement, there are lessons that can be learned from the US Presidential campaigns
The 2016 US Presidential election is in full-flow, with Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders fighting for the Democratic nomination, and Donald Trump still the frontrunner for the Republicans. Here, Josie Torrice looks at the lessons that can be learned from the campaign in terms of increasing the engagement of young voters, who are considerably less […]
The 2016 election is seeing the return of the ‘Paranoid Style’ in American politics
The 2016 primary season has seen Donald Trump gain traction with Republican voters through nativist rhetoric. While many see Trump’s extremist campaigning as a new low in American political discourse, Ron Pruessen, using the work of Richard Hofstadter, reminds us that such apocalyptic visions from politicians are really nothing new. He argues that crises over […]
The political potential of migrants is often overlooked in discussions around integration
In a recent study, Hanna Wass, Päivi Pirkkalainen and Marjukka Weide drew on the Somali community in Finland as a case study to consider immigrants as a political resource. They found that turnout among Somali-born voters was only slightly lower than native citizens, and that their engagement in civic associations is highly dynamic and diverse. […]
Freedom of expression on the internet is of utmost importance but it needs to be weighed against social responsibility
The Internet has created seemingly limitless opportunities, but it also offers a platform for violent, hateful, and antisocial behaviour. Drawing on his recent book, Raphael Cohen-Almagor considers how to strike a balance between the free speech principle and social responsibilities. He proposes that deliberative democracy mechanisms could be used to promote content net neutrality and […]
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