Tag: European Union
Brexit and Scottish independence: Does campaign information actually change voters’ minds during a referendum?
Both sides of the UK’s referendum campaign have invested huge resources in trying to convince the electorate to back their viewpoint, but how effective are these efforts in actually changing the minds of voters? Drawing on research in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, Davide Morisi illustrates how information can have an impact on the […]
What has the EU ever done for us? Peace, togetherness, investment, and prosperity
The EU referendum is taking place today, with millions flocking to polling stations in order to register a vote for either remaining, or leaving, the EU. Here, Andrew Crines argues that the vote is an opportunity for us to examine what kind of country we want to be, and that EU membership has given us […]
The success of the European project rests on the ability to balance ‘hyper globalisation’, national sovereignty, and democracy
The Brexit referendum is upon us, with the contest on something of a knife-edge according to polling. Here, Simon Wren-Lewis looks at the way the debate interacts with notions of democracy, arguing that policymakers need to find acceptable arrangements that partially limit each element of the ‘trilemma’ which posits the impossibility of simultaneously enjoying national sovereignty, […]
What did ITV’s EU referendum debate say about the role of women in the campaign?
The impact of EU membership on women has not played a major part in the UK’s referendum campaign. Following a TV debate on 9 June that featured five female politicians, as well as Boris Johnson, Roberta Guerrina assesses how the EU has affected factors such as women’s employment rights and how these issues could be […]
Democracy always sparks discontent, but discontent can also spark change.
At a recent lecture at Christ’s College Cambridge, John Shattuck spoke about democracy and its discontents. Here, it is published in a slightly modified format, and explores the development of ‘illiberal democracy’ and explains why such a concept could never truly work in practice. Similar PostsThe handling of the Eurozone crisis has undermined confidence in […]
Accusing the ‘Leave’ campaign of utopianism is playing into its hands
The ‘Remain’ campaign, who are in favour of the UK’s continued membership of the European Union, recently accused Michael Gove of the rival ‘Leave’ campaign of engaging in “utopianism”. This, kind of thinking, argues Craig Berry in a post which originally appeared on the New Statesman’s Staggers blog is counterproductive, as it hands the baton of optimism […]
The legitimacy of the EU referendum requires that citizens are informed of the implications of their decision
The campaign over whether to leave the EU or remain a member has predictably focused on matters such as immigration and the economy. However, at stake at the referendum later this year are a set of rights that UK citizens have accrued by virtue of their EU citizenship. Here, Katie Boyle argues that the democratic […]
The Commonwealth is not an alternative to the EU for Britain
Opponents of the UK’s continued membership of the European Union have been known to invoke the Commonwealth as an alternative political and economic union based on Britain’s former empire. Here, Andrew Dilley argues that it is a mistake to do so, with this notion resting on misguided thinking. Similar PostsThe UK’s renegotiation: What a fair […]
Fidesz and electoral reform: How to safeguard Hungarian democracy
The Hungarian government, led by Viktor Orbán, has been criticised by some international observers for undermining the country’s democracy, but how accurate is this view? Andrea Fumarola presents a comprehensive look at the effect of electoral reforms recently undertaken in Hungary. He writes that the current voting system seriously limits not only the fair representation […]
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 […]
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