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Live from the BBC – politics student Megan goes behind the scenes for election night

Final-year Politics and International Relations student Megan Collins took part in the BBC election night special and was one of several voters interviewed by BBC Presenter Sophie Raworth on the giant electoral map that was laid outside BBC Television studios.  Megan was selected for the event by Stephen Vaccarini, Faculty Placements Manager, and Professor Katherine …

PM launches review into post-18 education and funding

Political and Public Affairs Unit Briefing Background This afternoon (Monday February 19) at Derby College, the Prime Minister formally launched the long-awaited ‘major review’ into post-18 funding and education. First announced in the Conservative Party Manifesto ahead of the General Election in May last year, disagreements over the scale and scope of the review are …

Trump’s Long First Year

Todd Landman, Professor of Political Science and Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Social Sciences, looks at President Trump’s first year in office. Saturday 20 January 2018 marks the first anniversary of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America. For many, this seems like it has …

MI6’s Secret Slush Fund

When the Chief of MI6 retired in 1952 he left a bombshell of an inheritance. General Sir Stewart Menzies had been Chief of MI6 since 1939. Having guided the service through the Second World War, he was exceptionally experienced and at the pinnacle of British intelligence. He agreed to stay on to oversee the difficult …

The truth is, voters crave a strong and stable leader

Professor Steven Fielding from the School of Politics and International Relations writes for The Conversation As he made his journey from conventional politician to radical hero, Tony Benn became increasingly critical of how the Labour party did politics. Benn’s diary records Harold Wilson, who had just won a landslide victory in 1966, claiming that the …

From wannabe to president: how Emmanuel Macron beat Marine Le Pen to win the French election

Paul Smith, Associate Professor in French and Francophone Studies at the University, writes about the French election result for The Conversation. After a tense and often antagonistic election campaign, Emmanuel Macron is to become the next president of France. The result is, of course, in all sorts of ways extraordinary. In a little over a …

Profile: Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left candidate shaking up the French election

Dr Paul Smith, Associate Professor in French and Francophone Studies writes for The Conversation about the far-left candidate shaking up the French election. The French call it Mélenchonite, a feverish excitement brought on by over-exposure to left-wing populism. There was an outbreak of it during the country’s 2012 presidential campaign, when, just a fortnight before the …

Nottingham academic works with the British Army

An Assistant Professor from the School of Politics and International Relations, Dr Louise Kettle, recently spent time based in Warminster conducting research and working with the British Army. The prestigious one month placement was organised in conjunction with The Whitehall & Industry Group – a charity which aims to bring together business, government and the …

APRIL 4: THE REAL KING DAY

Peter Ling, Professor of American Studies at The University of Nottingham, and author of the 2015 Martin Luther King biography, looks at the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Riverside Address 50 years ago. April 4 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Riverside address, his outspoken denunciation of US policy in Vietnam. A …

A hologram, a family scandal and a man on the march: the French election just got really exciting

Paul Smith, Associate Professor in French and Francophone studies, writes for The Conversation Embattled presidential candidate François Fillon probably looked at the political calendar in the first week of February and thanked his lucky stars that the spotlight shifted, for a weekend at least, to other candidates in the French election race. Lyon became the …