Category Archives: News

CGC Blog Competition – Winning Entries

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We’re pleased to announce the winning entries of the CGC Blog Competition. The calibre of entries was extremely high which made our job very difficult.

First prize was won by Frederick Till for his article The EU: Democratise or Disintegrate about the perceived democratic deficit at the heart of the EU, and the steps that certain Europeans have taken to try and rectify it.

The joint runners up prizes were won by Kate Cyr  and Cameron Trainer. Kate’s article Out of Sight, Out of Mind: On the History & Legality of Detention Centres looks at the history and legality of refugee detention centres through the prism of the recent Australian experience. Cameron’s article Repression, It’s the Law investigates political repression in Russia.

Film: ‘Dr Who – Planet of the Ood’ and Talk: ‘IR and Sci-Fi’

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DW event - Centre for Global Constitutionalism

The CGC will hold a film screening of Dr Who – Planet of the Ood followed by a discussion with Prof Tony Lang and Dr Bill Vlcek on the subject ‘Other Worlds of our Making – International Relations and Sci-Fi’. Thursday 5 May in School I from 4-6pm. Wine reception to follow.

Professor Catherine Lu: ‘Justice and Reconciliation in International Relations’

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The Centre for Global Constitutionalism and the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies are hosting a talk by Professor Catherine Lu of McGill University on Monday, 18 April, 5:00pm in the Arts Lecture Theatre.

Professor Lu will be speaking on the topic – ‘Justice and Reconciliation in International Relations’.  All are welcome.

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Lecture by Professor Antje Wiener from Hamburg University – Mon 4 April

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The Centre for Global Constitutionalism will be hosting a talk by Professor Antje Wiener of the University of Hamburg, a leading constructivist IR theorist, on Monday, 4 April at 5PM in the Arts Building Lecture Theatre.

The topic will be “Contested Norms in International Encounters: The ‘Turbot War’ as Prelude to Fairer Global Fisheries Governance”.

Upcoming CGC Events

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‘Protest and Politicization. Critical Theory in Times of Resistance’ Professor Christian Volk, University of Trier, Germany. Tuesday, 8 March, 5 pm-7pm, Arts Building, Seminar Room 2

‘Normalcy and Normativity: Constitutive and Contestatory Practices in Global Governance’ Professor Antje Weiner, University of Hamburg, Germany. Monday, 4 April, 5pm Arts Lecture Theatre

‘Justice and Reconciliation in International Relations’ Professor Catherine Lu, McGill University, Canada. Monday, 18 April, 5pm Arts Lecture Theatre. Cosponsored with the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

CGC Blog Competition – Closing Date Friday 8 April

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Blog Competion

1st prize £60
2 runners up prizes of £30 each

To launch our new blog posts page we invite submissions of articles & blog posts (max 1000 words) from undergraduate & postgraduate students at the University of St Andrews.

Posts should address relevant contemporary issues related to the Centre’s interests including constitutionalism, the rule of law, politics, ethics, human rights or justice. The winning and runners up posts will be published on the CGC Blog Posts Page and Global Politics Magazine. Outstanding submissions not winning a prize may also be published at the Centre’s discretion.

Relevant contemporary issues may include but are not limited to the European refugee crisis, the UK’s place in the EU, Scotland’s place in the UK, political or constitutional events in specific countries or globally, conflict, climate change, human rights around the world. Successful entries will address the contemporary issue within the context of constitutionalism or the Centre’s other interests.

Please submit your blog post / article with your Matric No to globcon@st-andrews.ac.uk by Friday 8 April.

Update on CGC Activities and Events – February 2016

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From Professor Tony Lang, Director, Centre for Global Constitutionalism

For some time, the CGC has had a blog option on its website. This has been used by a few of us, but we’d like to encourage more students and scholars with interests in the broadly defined field of Global Constitutionalism to utilize it and submit articles and blog posts (email address below).

With that in mind, let me start things off with a few announcements about the Centre and its activities.

First, I’m very pleased to announce our four interns for the 2015-2016 academic year: Max Curtis, Kate Cyr, Ashley Gierlach, and Christine Kim. In fact, they have been hard at work on projects and activities related to the Centre, and they will be working hard on activities in the coming semester. Welcome to our interns!

Second, two new members of staff in the School of International Relations have joined the Centre. Dr Adam Bower, who recently arrived from fellowships at Oxford University and the European University Institute, focuses on IR theory (especially constructivism and theories of contestation and strategic action), international organizations, disarmament, international humanitarian law, and the International Criminal Court. More specifically, his work examines how legal institutions — especially multilateral treaties– influence international affairs by transforming expectations about appropriate conduct. Dr Mateja Peters, who recently arrived from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, focuses on global governance and international organisations, peace operations and state-building, questions of international authority, and the broader politics of international interventions in (post-) conflict territories. Both will be working with the Centre on their research themes which will greatly enhance the work of the Centre.

Third, the Centre will soon be issuing its first annual report, a result of the efforts of research fellow Dr Iain Ferguson. Dr Ferguson has developed a methodology for measuring and assessing changes in international law and institutions relating to constitutionalism. The report should appear in late March. Watch this space for more details!

Fourth, the Centre will soon be posting a series of videos describing its mandate and coming projects. These videos will give easy to access information on the Centre and will become a regular feature of our work.

Fifth, Centre Director Professor Anthony Lang along with Centre Board Member Professor Antje Wiener of Hamburg University are currently working on a Handbook of Global Constitutionalism to be published by Edward Elgar Press in late 2016 or early 2017. This Handbook will include a wide range of contributions from scholars all over the world, covering different historical periods and theoretical traditions. A draft introduction to the Handbook is available for viewing here.

Finally, please keep an eye out for our upcoming events. These include lectures by scholars from the universities in Canada and Germany. In addition, we will be working with some of the student groups here at St Andrews to develop alternative ways of advancing our research and activities. Please watch our social media sites (Facebook and Twitter) and this website for more details on all our activities. And, do not hesitate to contact us via our email address at globcon@st-andrews.ac.uk