IIEA Talks

In this panel, Dr Elodie Fabre and Mathieu Gallard dissect the recent French legislative elections. These two experts discuss voting trends, electoral issues, the results and possible new government, and what that may mean for France’s domestic and international policy. About the Speakers: Dr Elodie Fabre is a Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at Queen’s University Belfast. Her research focuses on political parties in France and in the UK. She is currently working on the evolution of Renaissance, Emmanuel Macron’s political party, and party finance in Northern Ireland. Mathieu Gallard has been Research Director at Ipsos France since 2016. He is in charge of surveys on political and electoral issues in France and abroad and has produced analyses on these matters for numerous media and think tanks. Before joining Ipsos, Mr Gallard worked at the Government Information Service, which analyses public opinion for the Prime Minister's office.

In his remarks to the IIEA, Édouard Philippe analyses the role of France and the EU in adapting to global upheavals. In his address, he underscores France's pivotal role in Europe, especially in promoting peace and economic cooperation, while addressing current challenges such as shifting global power dynamics, waning multilateralism, and defense policy alignment. He also highlights the necessity of a united Europe to effectively respond to these issues. About the Speaker: Édouard Philippe has been Mayor of Le Havre since 2010. From 2012 to 2017, he was also Member of Parliament representing the 7th district of Seine-Maritime. From 2017 to 2020, he served as Prime Minister of France. In October 2021, he created his own political party, Horizons. In November 2021, he was elected President of the International Network of Port Cities (AIVP). Édouard Philippe is also a writer who has published several novels and non-fiction books.

This panel discusses what the next steps might be for the EU following the European Parliament elections, which took place in June. The panellists will look at where we are in the various post-election processes, as regards to appointments to the top EU jobs, the formation of the parliamentary groups, and the formation of the new Commission. About the Speakers: John O’ Brennan is a professor in the department of Sociology at Maynooth University and Director of the Maynooth Centre for European and Eurasian studies. He is an expert on EU enlargement and on Ireland’s experience of European integration. He has published two books, and dozens of journal articles and book chapters on these themes. He is one of Ireland’s foremost analysts of contemporary Europe for newspapers, television and radio outlets. Frances Fitzgerald is an international leader and influencer on equality from Ireland, who is currently serving a two-year term as a Member of the Gender Equality Advisory Council to the G7. A parliamentarian for over 20 years,Frances has served as Tánaiste; Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation; Minister for Justice & Equality; and was the State’s first Minister for Children & Youth Affairs. She held the position of Member of the European Parliament for 5 years (2019-2024), where she served on the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and the Development Committee Marian Harkin TD served as an MEP from 2004 to 2019, as a member of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). She was first elected as an independent in 2004 for the Connacht-Ulster region and was re-elected in 2009 and 2014 to represent the Northern and Western Region. Marian was the co-ordinator for the ALDE group on the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs and also sat on the Agriculture and Finance Committees in the European Parliament. In 2012, she became Vice-President of the European Democratic Party. In 2020, after 15 years as an MEP, Marian was re-elected to Dáil Eireann as an independent for Sligo-Leitrim-North Roscommon and South Donegal.

At a time when migration is one of the most pressing issues on the international agenda – and one of the most polarising – Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), reflects on why it is important to change the global narrative – from one that is highly politicised to one that captures the potential and rich benefits of this global phenomenon. About the Speaker: Amy Pope is the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a post she has held since 1st October 2023. She brings a wealth of experience in addressing complex migration issues and a passion for changing the global narrative about people on the move. She is the first woman to hold the post in IOM’s 73-year history.

Since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, reports of crimes against Armenian cultural heritage in the territory have emerged. After Azerbaijan assumed control over Nagorno-Karabakh following a military offensive in October 2023 and the mass expulsion of the region’s ethnic Armenian population, concerns of heritage abuse have intensified. Crimes against cultural heritage gained infamy in recent years with the plundering of ancient sites in Iraq and Syria yet reports of the attempted erasure of Armenian cultural heritage in both Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhchivan have not received global attention. In this panel, two experts discuss abuses of cultural heritage in general and, specifically, the alleged or potential destruction of Armenian cultural heritage following the assertion of Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh. About the Speakers: Derek Fincham is a Professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, where he teaches Legal Research and Writing and Art Law. Dr Fincham serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Cultural Property and runs the Illicit Cultural Property Blog. Lori Khatchadourian is Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology at Cornell University, and co-founder and co-director of Caucasus Heritage Watch. Her research uses the methods of archaeology and anthropology to study heritage politics and the ruins of modernity, with a particular focus on the South Caucasus.

In this IIEA webinar, Dr Tim Oliver, Director of Studies, and Senior Lecturer for the Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance, Loughborough University and Dr Lisa Claire Whitten, Research Fellow at Queen's University Belfast, discuss the implications and outcomes of the UK general election that took place on Thursday, 4 July. About the Speakers: Dr Tim Oliver is a leading expert on Brexit, UK politics and foreign policy, and international relations. Dr Oliver holds a PhD from London School of Economics, which looked at the nature of the UK state and how it makes foreign policy. Dr Oliver was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was also a Transatlantic Postdoc Fellow for International Relations and Security (TAPIR) based at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (Berlin), the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and the RAND Corporation in Washington D.C. Dr Lisa Claire is a Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast specialising in the legal, regulatory, and constitutional implications of Brexit, particularly looking at Northern Ireland. Prior to entering academia, Lisa Claire held a variety of posts in the public sector, including working for an MP in Westminster and in the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels. She has recently published two books, both on the subject of the Northern Ireland constitution entitled, Northern Ireland and the UK Constitution and Brexit and the Northern Ireland Constitution.

Prof. Tobias Lock gives a detailed examination of the constitutional and legal processes behind German reunification to highlight the substantial legal challenges that Irish unification would entail. Similar to German reunification, achieving Irish unity would necessitate negotiations at multiple levels: domestic, bilateral, and international, including with the EU. This process would involve integrating two distinct legal systems, addressing issues ranging from the routine to the contentious. Although the specific issues will differ between Germany and Ireland, Prof. Tobias Lock argues that the legal techniques used in Germany, such as frontloading, transition periods, and conflict rules could also be effectively applied to Irish unification. About the Speaker: Tobias Lock is a Professor of Law at Maynooth University and the founding director of the Maynooth Centre for European Law. From 2020-2023, he held the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law and Fundamental Rights. Originally from Germany, Prof. Lock previously taught at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on EU constitutional and fundamental rights law, comparative constitutional law, and the relationship between EU law, domestic law, and international law. He is an EU law adviser to the Scottish Parliament and a member of the Royal Irish Academy’s ARINS project.

France is on the cusp of unprecedented political change. If opinion polls prove correct, Europe’s second largest economy and founding member of the European Union is set to elect a lower house of parliament dominated by the hard right and hard left. This edition of IIEA Insights examines the political, economic, diplomatic, and security implications of the coming sea change in French politics. Hélène Conway-Mouret, member of France’s senate representing the Socialist Party. She was minister-delegate for French expatriates from 2012-14 and is a scholar of international relations. She has previously held academic positions in both France and Ireland. Nicolas Véron, cofounder of Bruegel think tank and Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a Senior Fellow at both Bruegel and the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC. He has previously held senior positions in the French government and private sector.

Full event title 'Global Gateway Strategy: EU’s Values-Based Strategy for Enhanced International Partnerships and Sustainable Investments' In her remarks, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, presents the Global Gateway investment strategy. In a time of geopolitical turmoil and subsequent global crises, which have hit the most vulnerable the hardest, Global Gateway is the European Union’s positive and holistic partnership offer to advance Sustainable Development Goals in partner countries. It reflects the new paradigm of development cooperation, stemming from the need to reset relations with the Global South and build mutually beneficial, equal partnerships to solve global challenges. About the Speaker: As European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms Jutta Urpilainen oversees the European Commission’s work on international cooperation and sustainable development. Before joining the Commission, Ms Urpilainen served as a Member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2019. In 2008, she became the first woman leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. From 2011 to 2014, she served as Finland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. During that time, she became closely involved in development issues, joining the Development Committee of the World Bank Group and IMF, and chairing the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development. She served as the Foreign Minister’s Special Representative on Mediation (2017-19) and chaired the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO (2015-18).

In his talk, Michael Kenny discusses the main themes of his new book, Fractured Union, which provides a comprehensive analysis of how and why the UK’s Union has, in his opinion, come near to breaking apart in recent years. He explores the policy options and cultural changes required in British politics and government to put the Union on a more stable footing. He also considers the implications of the next general election taking place in the UK for the next 10-20 years, and discusses what will be different, and what might continue, in the event of a victory for Keir Stamer’s Labour Party. About the Speaker: Michael Kenny is Professor of Public Policy, and the inaugural Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge where he leads the Institute’s place and public policy programme. He is a visiting Fellow at the UCL Constitution Unit, a Fellow of the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences, and holds advisory positions with the Constitution Society, the ‘Behaviour Change by Design’ project, and ‘The Science of Global Risk’ project. His research includes leading projects on left-behind communities, social infrastructure and devolution, and the future of the UK constitution. His latest book is entitled Fractured Union: Politics, Sovereignty, and the Fight to Save the UK.