Dear , Welcome to your first Politics and International Studies (PAIS) newsletter.
It is a great pleasure to share just some of the ongoing activities within the Department. This newsletter features the projects of colleagues who recently joined us and it highlights some important work and events involving colleagues and alumni. I’d particularly like to thank our alumni who generously give their time to talk to current students about careers and personal development. |
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PAIS is developing its use of social media to keep connected with our alumni community. Please do get in touch and participate. Professor Matthew Clayton, Head of Department |
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New project on the politics of financial citizenship launched
The FINDEM project, led by Professor Lena Rethel, explores how middle-class expectations shape financial policy and politics in emerging market democracies. It focuses on Southeast Asia and Africa – particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, and Nigeria. For further information, please get in touch with Lena.
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NHS Collaboration with the Counter Terrorism Clinical Consultancy Service
Professor Charlotte Heath-Kelly’s European Research Council project (NeoliberalTerror) has exposed new collaborations between Counterterrorism Policing and the NHS. Through a new police-led mental health project, clinicians are seconded to obtain NHS medical information about persons of interest. The research is challenging the appropriateness of this non-consensual information sharing. |
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PAIS Academic Profile: Dr Akinyemi Oyawale
Dr Akinyemi Oyawale's research looks at (in)security dynamics related to terrorism, counterterrorism, and violent extremism through how these are encountered, lived, and experienced by various publics. He leads the Decolonizing Curriculum Working Group, which focuses on decolonising the curriculum, our learning environment, and even how we think about and practise decolonisation. |
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In the photo from left: Ambassador Peter Millet, Professor Neophytos Loizides, Dr Meltem Onurkan- Samani, Baroness Meral Ece, Barrister Can Yeginsu, and Warwick alumnus Raouf Jundi (BSc Engineering Electronics, 1984). |
Research spotlight: Is a truth commission in Cyprus a viable next step?
Professor Neo Loizides and the PEACERETURN/DISACT projects ran an event in January 2025, which explored the humanitarian, legal, and political dimensions of the possibility of a truth and reconciliation committee for the missing persons in Cyprus. Distinguished attendees included Baroness Meral Ece, senior diplomats, prominent academics from major universities across the UK, and members of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot diaspora. PAIS Professor Gabrielle Lynch, Professor Briony Jones, Dr Sadi Shannah, and two of our undergraduate students, Nicholas Lewis and Zach Fischer, contributed to the event.
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PAIS Big Party
The Big PAIS Party 2025 on Monday 10 March was a huge success. This is always good fun and a great occasion to unwind at the end of another busy term. It was wonderful to bring together the PAIS community once again with our very own staff DJs – Dr Trevor McCrisken and Dr Justin Greaves! We hope many of you have wonderful memories of the PAIS party from your time in the Department. We would love to hear your memories and other moments of studying here to celebrate the University’s 60th anniversary: Your Memories.
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| Graduations January 2025 PAIS hosted a memorable graduation reception to celebrate the achievements of our graduating undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD students. Faculty, alumni, and families gathered to celebrate their hard work and dedication. Congratulations to our newest alumni! We look forward to hearing about your future successes as part of the PAIS alumni community. |
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| PAIS alumni and widening participation
Our outreach work remains central to us, and we continue to work with alumni to bring schools onto campus. In January, we welcomed nearly 100 pupils from Stourbridge, through working with former student ambassador Alice Palmer (BA History and Politics, 2020). The pupils experienced lectures by Professor Ben Clift and Dr Akinyemi Oyawale and they also had a tour of campus. Would you like to get involved?
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| Something to shout about? |
If you’ve been published recently, been awarded a scholarship/prize, or got a new, exciting job and want to be mentioned in our next newsletter, let us know. SHARE YOUR STORY |
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Connecting our Alumni with our students
The PAIS Alumni Panel on Tuesday 4 February 2025 was a resounding success, showcasing the impressive career paths of our graduates. Daniel Dalton (MA International Politics and East Asia, 2005), Kieran Roan (BA PAIS, 2023), Andrea Vila Plana (BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, 2023), Thomas Garth (BA Politics, Philosophy and Law, 2023), and Viktoria Erdei-Szabo (BA PAIS, 2024) shared their experiences across sectors like politics, communication, civil service, defence, data privacy, and sustainability. Their insights offered invaluable guidance to current students, reinforcing the strong, enduring ties within the PAIS community.
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| Helping our students to thrive
Instructional Designer - LMS Specialist Anuradha Roy (BA PAIS, 2017) has generously given back her time to support Warwick's personal development programme, Thrive. Sharing her experiences and insight was really impactful for our students, and from the notes they were scribbling and the questions they asked, it was clear it made a huge impression on them.
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Alumni inspiring student careers
This term, two graduates delivered talks to our students. Andrei Ciocoiu (BA PPE, 2024), Healthcare Consultant, gave advice about how to find one’s way in the EU public affairs sector. Marta Sganga (MSc Big Data and Digital Futures, 2023), Market Strategy Analyst at National Energy System Operator, explained how her taste for social data analysis led her to the core of strategic decision-making in the energy sector. Both gave fantastic insights into potential career paths for our students.
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| Do you work in International Development? Or have experience with public affairs in Europe or the UK Parliament or with lobbying the work of elected representatives in any of these institutions? If so, we would love to hear from you as we develop these new modules. |
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| Connecting the Social Sciences Webinar
Wednesday 2 April, 2-3pm Hear from UNICEF'S Head of Campaigns and Advocacy, Ben Perks, during the first session of the Connecting the Social Sciences Webinar Series. The topic will be on 'Ending Child Trauma: A population-wide approach to ending the world's costliest public health problem'. |
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| The EU in focus
Professor Hussein Kassim is a specialist on EU institutions and EU-member state relations. Leading on projects such as Living with the Neighbours and UK in a Changing Europe, he is organising a major conference in May 2025 on the current government’s European policy. We are looking forward to the keynote by former Commission President José Manuel Barroso at a EUTOPIA event in Warwick in June 2025.
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30th anniversary of the Warwick Graduates’ Association in Hong Kong PAIS colleague Professor Shaun Breslin was guest of honour at the 30th anniversary dinner of the WGA in Hong Kong. An international expert in Chinese politics, he gave an engaging after-dinner talk to a large audience of our Hong Kong alumni. |
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Other ways to keep in touch |
Please quote your alumni number in correspondence with us |
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