“Brexit and the Crisis of Democracy in Europe”

By News Office
October 28, 2016

The Center for International Education at Washington and Lee University will present a panel discussion on “Brexit and the Crisis of Democracy in Europe” on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons at W&L. The discussion is free and open to the public.

This event is part of the 2016-18 Center for International Education Colloquium on Borders and Their Human Impact, with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The participants are:

• David Farrell, professor of politics, University College, Dublin;
• Richard Katz, professor of politics science, Johns Hopkins University;
• Krzysztof Jasiewicz, professor of sociology, Washington and Lee University;
• Mark Rush, director, Center for International Education, Washington and Lee University.

“Brexit is only the latest manifestation of democratic tensions within Europe,” said Rush. National sovereignty gave rise to Greek protests about EU economic policies. Immigration pressures are manifest throughout the EU and played an important role in putting the Brexit vote on the British political agenda.

“In Spain, the people are on the verge of their third election in 12 months because economics and political pressures have split the major parties and divided the party system in a way that prevents the formation of a new government. The migration crisis in Germany has been the focus of this semester’s German Law in Context symposium at the law school and will be the focus of the upcoming Institute for Honor in November. The panelists will discuss the Brexit vote and place it in the context of broader tensions affecting European Democracy.”

Farrell, a member of the Royal Irish Academy, is a specialist in the study of parties, elections, electoral systems and members of parliament. His research focuses on the role of deliberation in constitutional reform processes.

Selected publications include “The Election in Context” in “How Ireland Voted 2016” (co-author, 2016); “Conclusion and Reflection: Time for an Electoral Commission for Ireland” in Irish Political Studies (2015); and “Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction” (second ed., 2011; 2001).

In 2016, Farrell was reelected to speaker of the council of the European Consortium for Political Research. He was first elected to that position in 2013. In 2012, Farrell was elected as president of the Political Studies Association of Ireland. He is founding co-editor of Party Politics.

Katz’ research focuses primarily on political parties and electoral systems in the industrialized democracies of Europe, North America and the British Commonwealth. He has also published work on public support of the arts, the European Union and electoral behavior. His books include “A Theory of Parties and Electoral Systems” (1980, 2007); and “Political Institutions in United States; (2007); and “Democracy and Elections” (1997), as well as numerous edited and co-edited volumes.

He serves on the executive committee of the ECPR and as chair of the core group of experts on party regulation for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Katz is a past editor of the European Journal of Political Research and of the EJPR Political Data Yearbook, and has served, or is serving, on the editorial boards of the Journal of Politics, Representation, the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Irish Political Studies, Party Politics and European Union Politics.

Jasiewicz, the Ames Professor of Sociology, has taught and/or held fellowships at Warsaw University, Harvard, Oxford, U.C.L.A. and the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, among others.

He has published extensively on elections, voting behavior, party systems and political attitudes in Poland and other Central European states. His recent publications include articles in the Journal of Democracy, East European Politics and Societies, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Problems of Post-Communism and European Journal of Political Research, as well as chapters in edited volumes, in English, Polish and French. Jasiewicz is the co-editor of the journal East European Politics and Societies and Cultures.

Rush is the Waxburg Professor of Politics and Law and the director of International Education. From 2010-2013, he served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

Rush’s scholarly work and interests include presidential powers over foreign affairs, international politics, the Middle East, judicial activism, elections and democratic reform, civic education, higher education and law and sports.

He has written extensively on U.S. politics, constitutional law in the U.S. and Canada, elections and democracy around the world, and global affairs. He co-authored “Judging Democracy” (2008) and numerous additional articles in journals such as Presidential Studies, The Review of Politics, Publius, The McGill Law Journal, The Journal of Law and Politics, and PS: Political Science and Politics. His writings have also appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Richmond Times and The Roanoke Times. He is also a frequent commentator on National Public Radio and the Arabian News Network.