Aston study visit to Westminster, 30th April 2013 Guest blog report by Naomi Palmer, Undergraduate student at Aston University Leaving out early in the morning bound for London, none of us knew what to expect or the kind of day that was in store for us. The large Victorian Gothic styled building in all its [...]
In May, France signed gay marriage into law, a move that was met with mass protests from the right wing Manif pour Tous movement. How has this movement met with such success in a country that is predominantly tolerant in sexual matters? John Gaffney argues that the movement’s success has fed on the negative sentiment [...]
One year ago today, during François Hollande’s inauguration as the seventh President of the French Fifth Republic, it poured with rain all day long. Inexplicably, no one offered him a raincoat or the protection of an umbrella. He spent the day’s ceremony drenched to the bone, his glasses steamed up, his sopping wet suit and [...]
The challenge of separating an independent Scotland (IS) from the rest of the UK (referred to as r-UK from here in) would be a monumental task in general. However, nowhere will this be more challenging than in the area of defence and security. Quite possibly the biggest single challenge will be how to dismantle the [...]
Those of us around on Wednesday the 1st of May were fortunate enough to attend what proved to be an enlightening discussion (and free lunch!) on the legacies of Thatcherism. This event was jointly hosted by the Aston Centre for Europe and the Aston Politics Society. Chaired by Simon Smith from LSS, the ‘Round Table’ [...]
This article originally appeared at the LSE’s EUROPP blog, on 15 May 2013. Last month, Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement on ‘normalisation’ of their relations, following protracted EU-led talks. No official version of the agreement appears to have been published yet – but most analysts have been referring to this leaked version. The highlights of this [...]
Four Prime Ministers governed in the 1970s: Edward Heath (1970-74); Harold Wilson (1974-76); James Callaghan (1976-79); and from the end of the 1970s, Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990). The changes in political orientation (Conservative-Labour-Labour-Conservative) highlighted the broader contradictions of this period while emphasising the two-party dichotomy between Labour and Conservative. The transitions in government reinforced the gradual [...]
In The Daily Telegraph on 3 April 2013, David Cameron declared that Britain would be unwise to give up its nuclear deterrent given the real risk of new nuclear armed states such as Iran and North Korea emerging. North Korea’s recently conducted nuclear test, its missile capability and its recent belligerent behaviour offers one of [...]
Guest blog post by Rebecca Brown, MA Student Day 1 Armed with suit-filled suitcases and 3 months’ worth of intensive EU based knowledge, the intrepid explorers from 2012’s International Relations MA group set out on a journey that saw them at first battling a snowstorm- all in the name of adventure and education of course. [...]
There will be few set-piece events in David Cameron’s political career that will be more eagerly awaited and closely watched than yesterday’s long-promised speech on the UK’s future relationship with the European Union. In it he had to attempt what must have seemed like Mission Impossible. On the one hand, he needed to respond to [...]
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