Jessical Schulberg
Jessica Schulberg was an MSc IPE graduate in 2010, and her dissertation co-won the Susan Strange Award for Best Dissertation in International Political Economy. She has recently had her dissertation, entitled Between Coercion and Discourse: Developing Countries and the Adoption of Elevated Intellectual Property Standards, published in the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs online policy journal Policy Innovations.
On 28 March 2012, Professor Barry Buzan gave a short (21 mins) Tedx lecture at Central Saint Martins on why there will be no more superpowers in the future.
Watch it here:
Dr Yeo Lay Hwee, Director, European Union Centre in Singapore
Various perception studies conducted by scholars over the past few years (Lucarelli and Fioramonti; Holland, et al.) on the European Union’s external image have revealed that it is largely seen as an economic or trading power, but is not widely perceived to be a world power or significant global player. The EU remains predominantly an economic player in Asia and is ASEAN’s second largest trading partner.
While the EU has been seen positively as a supporter of multilateralism and a model of regional integration, the events of the last two years are likely to have eroded some of these perceptions. The handling of the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis has dented the image of Europe as an economic power, and the rise of China and India and the perceptible shift of power eastward have meant that Europe is also increasingly perceived by Asians as an area in decline. Continue reading
On 15 March 2012 the LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit hosted the sixth of ten roundtables on ‘EU Foreign Policy after Lisbon’, entitled ‘The European External Action Service’. The panellists were Professor Sophie Vanhoonacker (University of Maastricht), Professor Richard Whitman (University of Kent) and Professor Michael Smith (Loughborough University). The roundtable was chaired by David Spence, Dinam Fellow at the LSE.
In their contributions, the panellists addressed three core questions concerning the EEAS. First, why have there been problems in the design and operation of the EEAS? Second, has the EEAS made a difference to the EU foreign policy-making, and if so, in what regard? And finally, what are the future prospects for the EEAS? Continue reading
In a world where the presence of non-state actors (e.g. multinational corporations, NGOs, international organisations, etc.) has increased exponentially, it has become a burning issue to investigate the influence that they have on the EU. While much ink has been spilled analysing lobbying and advocacy activities in several EU policy areas, EU foreign policy, meaning all EU external relations, has not received particular attention.
After having struggled through the Friday afternoon traffic to get out of London, this year’s group of attendees from LSE’s international relations department enjoyed the ‘informal reception’ at Cumberland Lodge to get ready for a weekend of good food, merry times and to talk about ‘The Political Economy of International Economic Crisis’. Continue reading
On 2 February 2012 the LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit hosted the fourth of ten roundtables on ‘EU Foreign Policy after Lisbon’ addressing the highly topical issue of “The EU’s Influence in its Eastern Neighbourhood”. The panellists were Professor Hiski Haukkala (University of Tampere, Finland), Dr Nicu Popescu (European Council on Foreign Relations) and Professor Stefan Wolff (University of Birmingham). The event was chaired by Dr Ulrich Sedelmeier of the LSE. Continue reading
The International Relations Department saw 2012 off to a great start at its New Year’s Party on Friday 13 January.
The party, held in the LSE Students’ Union basement bar, hosted two bands. The Margot Light Brigade featured three IR staff members and two research students, with Chris Emery (guitar), Joe Hoover (drums), Paul Kirby (bass), Meera Sabaratnam (vocals, guitar), and Elke Schwarz (vocals, percussion). See photos behind the cut! Continue reading
On 19 January 2012 the LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit hosted the third roundtable on ‘EU Foreign Policy after Lisbon’, entitled ‘EU Foreign Policy: The View from the Mediterranean’. The panellists were Professor Atila Eralp (Middle East Technical University, Ankara), Professor Richard Gillespie (University of Liverpool) and Dr Claire Spencer (Chatham House). The roundtable was chaired by Professor Karen E. Smith of the LSE. Continue reading
On 6 December 2011 the LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit hosted the second of ten roundtables on ‘EU Foreign Policy after Lisbon’. In this series policy-makers, experts and other stakeholders are invited to share their views on the EU’s role and impact in international affairs.
On this occasion the subject was the role of national parliaments and the European Parliament in the decision-making process of EU foreign policy. The panellists were Lord Teverson (Chairman of Sub-Committee C – Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development, House of Lords), Mike Gapes MP (former Chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee), Brendan Donnelly (Federal Trust and former MEP), and Dr Wolfgang Wagner (VU University of Amsterdam). The event was chaired by Professor Karen E. Smith of the LSE. Continue reading
