Brexit and weak government: a drama lesson from the Greece economy
Jun 19, 2017 15:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
The UK is not the first country to stand on the brink of leaving the EU. It may enjoy a far bigger and more productive economy than Greece, but there are alarming structural similarities between the two economies that cant...
How to protect 4.5m people from becoming Brexit bargaining chips
Jun 19, 2017 15:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law Politics
Both the EU and the UK have repeatedly stated that they want to secure the rights of the 3m EU citizens in the UK and the 1.5m British citizens in the EU as they negotiate their separation. But those rights have still...
How President Macron's parliament shapes up
Jun 19, 2017 15:23 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
After the first round of the French general election, on June 11, the order went out from the Elysée Palace to members of President Emmanuel Macrons La République en Marche (LRM): Pas de triomphalisme no...
Can we predict political uprisings?
Jun 17, 2017 15:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics Economy
Forecasting political unrest is a challenging task, especially in this era of post-truth and opinion polls. Several studies by economists such as Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler in 1998 and 2002 describe how economic...
When politicians cherry-pick data and disregard facts, what should we academics do?
Jun 13, 2017 16:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
When politicians distort science, academics and scientists tend to watch in shock from the sidelines rather than speak out. But in an age of fake news and alternative facts, we need to step into the breach and inject...
Critical backbenchers push back on Finkel clean energy target plan
Jun 13, 2017 15:55 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
A sizeable slice of his backbench has sent Malcolm Turnbull a forceful message that his road to implementing the clean energy target (CET) proposed by the Finkel inquiry will be rocky even within his own ranks. After...
Surprised at the election? Not if you were listening to radio phone-in shows
Jun 13, 2017 15:55 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology Politics
Heres a frightening thought: I have been involved in covering general elections for the past 40 years. In 1979 I was a gofer on ITNs then innovative phone-in segment on their general election results programme and in 2015...
Trade War Escalates: China Strikes Back