Local Democracy Week 2013 Challenge: Why Should Anyone Bother to Vote?
As part of this year’s European Local Democracy Week, Portsmouth City Council, the University of Portsmouth and the Political Studies Association (PSA) ran a challenge exercise to consider voting and electoral turnout. The event sought to identify current barriers to voting, why turnout at all levels of elections is falling and how we could address
Gibraltar stand-off: a storm in a cup of tea
What started as a row between aggrieved local Spanish fishermen and the Gibraltarian government over an artificial reef has escalated into an exchange of strong rhetoric between the Spanish and British governments. The sovereignty over Gibraltar has been a bone of contention in Spanish-British relations for 300 years. The Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which ceded
2013 Hellenic Prize for best dissertation in European studies
Congratulations to final year BA (Hons) European Studies and International Relations student Joe Turner, who has been awarded this year’s Hellenic Prize for the best dissertation in European studies. Joe’s dissertation, An Enlargement too far? The Importance of Foreign, Security and Defence Policy in shaping the application of the Turkish Republic to the European Union, explores the
The crisis, the new eurozone governance and the legitimacy of the EU institutions
By Gerda Morkeviciute and Edgaras Mascinskas When the euro crisis began, nobody knew how fast or broadly it would spread, or how difficult it would be to tackle. As an immediate response to the crisis, EU leaders and institutions implemented a number of mechanisms. These were designed to provide financial stability throughout the
The response of European left to the Euro crisis
INTRODUCTION The overall objective of this report is to provide a clear and concise overview of the European Left position towards the Euro crisis. The argument put forward is that the European left wing disapproves with the centre-right neo-liberal austerity policies of the past 3-4 years. The left wing politicians argue that the austerity policies