IIEA Talks

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Democracy Erodes from the Top: Misperceptions about the Populist Challenge Apr 15, 2024

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Professor Larry M. Bartels discusses his new book Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens and the Challenge of Populism in Europe. Professor Bartels challenges the narrative of a populist “wave” in contemporary European public opinion. He argues that electoral support for right-wing populist parties has increased only modestly, driven by populist entrepreneurs, the failures of mainstream parties, and media hype. He argues that Europe’s democratic backsliding reflects the ambitions of political leaders rather than public opinion. Professor Bartels concludes that the bottom-up interpretation of Europe’s political crisis needs to be turned upside down. About the speaker: Larry M. Bartels is May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science and University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Law at Vanderbilt University. His books include Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe; Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age (2nd ed); and Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (with Christopher Achen). He is an elected member of the American National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Media Freedom and Pluralism in Europe: Threats, Challenges, and Opportunities Apr 10, 2024

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In her address, Renate Schroeder, Director of the European Federation of Journalists, discusses developments in media freedom and pluralism over Europe in recent years, including some examples of unprecedented attacks against media freedom and pluralism that threaten democracy. She assesses the lessons that can be learnt by the media sector, civil society, policymakers, and other stakeholders in this regard. Ms Schroeder focuses part of her discussion on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) as well as other regulatory opportunities and challenges for the media sector. Renate Schroeder is the Director of the European Federation of Journalists. In 1993 she joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and she has worked at the United Nations, New York, and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Brussels. She joined the EFJ in 2003. Renate studied International Relations and Political Science at Boston University (Bachelor’s Degree in 1988) and in Berlin at the Free University (Masters in 1992).

Tale of Two Statehoods:Histories of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict through the Lens of Coloniality Apr 03, 2024

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According to Dr Dunkelberg, the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been premised from the perspective of Israel as the established state and Palestine as the non-state entity. In this keynote, he discusses a different possible reading of international legal history. A reading which revisits the traditional histories of Mandatory Palestine and the creation of a Palestinian State in full awareness of their coloniality in order to offer new understandings that challenge the hegemonic consensus. About the Speaker: Dr. Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg is a Lecturer in International Relations at King's College London's Department of War Studies. He specialises in history of international law, from a postcolonial and Global-South-centred approach. He is a contributing editor at the international law blog Opinio Juris.

How Foreign Lobbyists Threaten Democracy at Home and Abroad Mar 28, 2024

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According to Casey Michel, for years, Western foreign lobbyists have worked as foot-soldiers for the most authoritarian regimes around the planet. In the U.S. alone, the foreign lobbying industry is now worth billions of dollars. And it's no longer just PR shops or traditional lobbying shops. Instead, the industry now encompasses former officials, consultancies, law firms, think tanks, and even universities - all working on behalf of foreign dictatorships. In his address to the IIEA, Casey Michel discusses how this industry grew so quickly, and with so few paying attention? What kinds of threats does it present to democracy and what can be done? About the Speaker: Casey Michel is the Director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation. He is the author of American Kleptocracy: How the U.S. Created the World's Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History, and the forthcoming Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World, both published by St. Martin's Press. His writing has appeared in Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy, among many more outlets. He currently lives in New York.

Claus Vistesen 'The multiple implications of population decline and aging' 28th of March 2024 of Mar 28, 2024

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'The multiple implications of population decline and aging' Claus Vistesen, Chief Eurozone Economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, in conversation with Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist.

Digital Markets Act: The Opportunities for European Startups Mar 26, 2024

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The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to make digital markets fairer and more contestable, and to provide new opportunities for startups and investors in the EU. Eoghan O’Neill, Senior Policy Officer in the Platforms Policy and Enforcement Directorate of the European Commission presents the new DMA obligations for the world’s largest digital platforms. He outlines how these obligations may translate into opportunities for startups and investors. Amongst other features of the DMA, he examines the DMA’s implications for the interoperability of messaging apps, third party app stores, and how it empowers users to take advantage of data portability.

Illicit Finance: Implications for National Security and the Need for a New Strategic Response Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Ireland has over recent years become an increasingly important international financial centre. Trillions of euros of assets from overseas are either administered or domiciled in Ireland, often using complex financial structures involving multiple jurisdictions. Yet while successive Irish governments have been keen to reap the benefits of this ever more prominent role in the global financial system, far less attention has been paid to the multifaceted risks that accompany such significant flows of international capital. This keynote address to the IIEA considers the security threat from illicit finance, the extent to which existing responses are able to counter that threat, and what measures are required to make Ireland a genuinely hostile environment for money linked to criminal, corrupt and malign actors overseas. About the Speaker: Dr Alexander Chance is Head of Policy and Research at Transparency International (TI) Ireland, where he runs its programmes on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. He is also a Senior Fellow with the Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy and an Associate Fellow with RUSI’s Organised Crime and Policing Group. Alexander previously served in the UK National Crime Agency in operational, strategy and management roles focused on transnational organised crime, including five years working in South America, and has consulted for the UN and various other organisations. He obtained his PhD from Trinity College Dublin, where his research examined the relationship between organised crime, high-level corruption and peacebuilding in post-war Mozambique.

Taiwan’s 2024 Election: What’s Next? Mar 20, 2024

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On 13 January 2024, Taiwanese voters went to the polls and elected Lai Ching-Te of the Democratic Progressive Party. Amongst the key points of contention in this election was Taiwan’s future relations with China and how to navigate an increasingly contested geopolitical environment. This expert panel reflects on Taiwan’s election and explores the potential implications its result may have for Taiwan, for the Indo-Pacific, and for the globe. About the Speaker: Nick Marro is the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Lead Analyst for global trade. Based in Hong Kong, he has spent over a decade in Asia analysing trade policy. Nick also concurrently helps to lead the EIU’s award-winning coverage of China and Taiwan. In that role, he shapes the EIU’s view on China-Taiwan relations, including how to prepare for and mitigate the risks attached to cross-Strait tensions. Nick previously conducted trade research in Beijing with the US-China Business Council. He graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in Foreign Affairs and Chinese and holds graduate certification from the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Centre for Chinese and American Studies. Dr. Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy is Affiliated Scholar at the Department of Political Science of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Associated Research Fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP Stockholm), Head of the Associates Network at 9DASHLINE and Consultant at Human Rights Without Frontiers in Brussels. Based in Taiwan, Zsuzsa is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the National Dong Hwa University in Hualien. Between 2008 and 2020 Zsuzsa worked as a political advisor in the European Parliament. In May 2019 she published her book, Europe, China, and the Limits of Normative Power. Zsuzsa is a regular commentator in international media outlets.

Gender and Voting Behaviour in the Lead Up to the UK General Election 2024 Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

Traditionally, in the UK, women have been more likely than men to vote Conservative, whilst men have been more likely than women to vote Labour. Yet in recent general elections, this gender gap in voting behaviour has reversed, with women now leaning to the left of men in their vote choice. As the gender gap has shifted, parties have increasingly recognised the importance of women voters and have competed for their votes. The lead up to the 2024 General Election is no exception and has seen women voters at the fore of the election campaign, with the ‘Stevenage Woman’ – a fictional key voter – at the centre of Labour Party strategy. In this presentation, Anna Sanders explores the key issues in the run-up to the 2024 UK General Election, and their implications for gender differences in voting behaviour. About the Speaker: Anna Sanders is an Assistant Professor in British Politics at the University of York. Her research brings together the areas of gender, policies and voting behaviour, with a core interest in how policy offers shape gender gaps in vote choice. She has published on these themes in the Journal of European Public Policy, the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, and the British Journal of Politics and International Relations. She is currently working on a monograph, ‘Winning Women’s Votes: Gendered Policies and Campaigns in Britain’.

The Challenged, Challenging but Very Necessary ECHR Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

The 1949 Statute of the Council of Europe requires Member States to accept the principles of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms, on pain, in cases of serious violations, of expulsion. One of the principal means for achieving greater unity and safeguarding the signatory States’ common heritage was and is the European Convention on Human Rights and its innovative mechanism for the collective enforcement of individual rights. 75 years on, President O’Leary discusses what sort of challenges the European Court of Human Rights is facing as it seeks to uphold democracy, the protection of human rights, and the rule of law across 46 States. Further, President O’Leary addresses what challenges the Court’s judicial work poses for national systems and why, despite some legitimate criticism of the Convention system, we in Europe should not lose sight, at this critical point in history, of what that system was established to do: namely, to monitor compliance with the minimum standards necessary for a democratic society operating within the rule of law. About the Speaker: Síofra O’Leary has been a Justice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), elected in respect of Ireland, since 2015. Having served as a Section President and Vice-President since 2020, she was elected President of the Court in 2022. Prior to the ECtHR, President O’Leary worked for many years at the Court of Justice of the European Union. She is a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges and was previously Assistant Director of the Centre of European Law at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Emmanuel College.

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