Guest Articles

Women Protesters in Belarus and Poland – the key to change?

Photo: Lina Bob | Unsplash Guest Author: Lara Brett Lara Brett is a MA student in Contemporary European Studies at the University of Bath.   2020 was a turbulent time for everyone, but it also saw the amplification of ongoing political upheaval in eastern Europe. In Belarus and Poland, there is growing discord between authoritarian governments and the freedoms demanded by their citizens. In both nations, women have taken a leading role in the protests, but have often faced harsh repercussions. This post aims to highlight the contributions of these […]

IR in Practice

“Be courageous, be brave, say what you think” – Interview on human rights work with Lanna Idriss

Photo: Amnesty International   YJEA: We would like to start with your academic background. Could you give a short introduction of yourself? Idriss: Yeah, I will, because I am not the typical person who would end up in the public sector. So, about my international background: My name is Lanna Idriss, I am 45 years old and my father comes from Syria, my mother is a German-Danish mixture and I identify myself as a third-culture-kid. This is an expression by an American professor, who said, that when you have two […]

European Public Policy, Guest Articles

Making Polluters Pay – Policy Options for an Ambitious Reform of the European Emissions Trading System

Photo: SD-Pictures | Pixabay Guest Author: Benedikt Heyl Benedikt Heyl is a climate activist with German Zero, developing a concrete plan to make Germany climate neutral by 2035. He is a member of the Green Youth in Germany and studies theoretical physics at the University of Amsterdam.   The damages that the release of greenhouse gases causes to society as a whole are in crass contrast to the little repercussions that polluters experience for emitting them. To close this gap the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) was formed. Owners of […]

European Public Policy

Rule of Law in the EU – Killing the Goose that lays the Golden Eggs

Photo: François Genon | Unsplash   “Because other issues are more important than ethics, ethics is more important than any issue” [1]. Similarly, I would argue that the rule of law (RoL) may not be everything but without the rule of law, everything is nothing. The rule of law is inherently linked to democratic governance and democracy without the rule of law can hardly be considered democracy at all. Alongside human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and human rights, the rule of law is one of the fundamental values uniting the […]

IR in Science

“We are all just a footnote to Plato”

Photo: drhorstdonat1 | Pixabay As our series on how to improve your research continues, we went on to talk to Prof Dr Christian Kreuder-Sonnen about his professional tips and tricks to find the right literature, sort out what already exists in the field and how to embed your own research in it.   YJEA: Most of your research centers around the field of global governance with a focus on the issues of democratic legitimacy and constitutionalism. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Kreuder-Sonnen: These topics are so foundational […]

European Public Policy

Future of Europe: Migration Policy – Aspirations vs. Reality

Photo: Salah Darwish | Unsplash   Starting into the Council Presidency, Germany declared that migration policy in the European Union would be one of the focal points during the six months to come. Now, more than four months in, the issue many thought would be off the table due to different priorities during the corona pandemic has attracted more public scrutiny than anyone had imagined back in July 2020. The coronavirus especially affecting refugees who are most vulnerable, the burning down of Moria, the new proposal by the European Commission […]

IR in Science

Theories structure our thinking

Photo: Moritz Kindler | Unsplash   With this article, we follow up on the previous IR in Science contribution with Dr Monique Taylor regarding theory. This time we asked Prof Dr Elvira Rosert how to work with theories once you already found a suitable theoretical framework and discussed other aspects regarding theories that interested us.   YJEA: You mainly do research in the field of international norms and international humanitarian law. Why are you particularly interested in these topics? Rosert: My overarching research interest lies in the question of how […]

IR in Science

You can’t avoid theory

Photo: Veikko Venemies | Unsplash   In our second contribution to the science blog, we are interested in how to find a suitable theory for your research. We, therefore, talked to Dr Monique Taylor, lecturer at the University of Helsinki, and received some useful tips on finding a theoretical approach and becoming a better researcher.   YJEA: You do research mainly in the field of international political economy (IPE), with a particular interest in governance and institutional change and focus on China and Southeast Asia. Why are you particularly interested […]

IR in Practice

Climate Diplomacy: Working towards climate neutrality

Photo: Matthew TenBruggencate | Unsplash   YJEA: Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your job. Leonie van der Stijl: My name is Leonie van der Stijl and I’m a Dutch diplomat. I currently work at the directorate for Inclusive Green Growth (IGG) in the climate diplomacy team. The directorate houses a team of about 80 people. We cover food security, water, energy, arctic policies, and climate change. The climate team does two main things: on the one hand, we work on development programs, for example, a lot […]

Foreign, Security and Defence Policy

Future of Europe: German Council Presidency – Sovereignty, but for whom?

Photo: Patrick C. Freyer | Unsplash   On July, 1st, Germany took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union until the end of 2020. What an exciting time to be in this position, the neutral observer might be tempted to assume, not mistakenly so. The coronavirus pandemic needs to be tackled in a common European effort, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) needs to be agreed on rather urgently and not to be forgotten, the UK will have officially left the European Union, with or without a deal. […]