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3 December 2024
17:00 – 19:00 GMT
University of Essex and Online
STEM 3.1 Room
Free to attend
Registration is required for this event
We are proud to present another instalment of the Blondel Lecture Series, established in collaboration with the University of Essex to celebrate the legacy of eminent comparativist Jean Blondel.
Jean was the founder of the Department of Government at the University of Essex. He was also a driving force behind the creation of ECPR and served as its first Executive Director. Jean’s roles at Essex and ECPR created a special relationship between the two institutions, which we are delighted to consolidate with this annual event.
This year's lecture. delivered by the 2005 winner of our Jean Blondel PhD Prize Laura Morales, will explore how polarisation around immigration and immigration-produced diversity shapes political attitudes and behaviour.
Laura is a Research Professor at the Institute of Public Goods and Policies of the Spanish National Research Council and Professor of Political Science at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics of Sciences Po.
This event is supported by the University of Essex Department of Government and the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. It will be chaired by Shane Martin, Anthony King Chair of Comparative Politics, and followed by a drinks reception for all in-person participants.
Immigration and the social and cultural diversity that it generates is one of the core polarising issues in democratic politics. Immigration is becoming increasingly politicised, and many citizens feel discontent about migration and migration-related diversity. According to scholars and media pundits, this is fuelling support for populist radical-right parties. It is also eroding citizens' confidence in democratic institutions, and democracy in general.
Drawing on results from the Horizon Europe project ActEU for 10 EU countries, this lecture discusses the role of immigration in driving polarisation and democratic malaise in Europe. It focuses on understanding the following, from a comparative perspective:
Laura Morales is a Research Professor at the Institute of Public Goods and Policies (IPP) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid and a Professor of Political Science at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics of Sciences Po in Paris.
In 2023, she became a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and co-directs the research group on Discriminations of the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP) of Sciences Po.
Laura has been a research fellow of the Collaborative Institute on Migrations of France since 2018. Her research focuses on various themes at the crossroads of comparative politics, democratic representation, political behaviour, public opinion, political parties, the politics of immigration and the inclusion of historically marginalised groups.
She was awarded the 2005 ECPR PhD Prize, the precursor to the Jean Blondel PhD Prize. A developed and expanded version of her PhD thesis was published in 2008 by ECPR Press under the title Joining Political Organisations: Institutions, Mobilisation and Participation in Western Democracies.
The Blondel Lecture Series is FREE to attend in person or online, and open to scholars from all institutions. Registration is required and you'll need a My ECPR account to register.
To participate online:
For those joining in person, the event takes place in Room 3.1, STEM Building, University of Essex Colchester Campus, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ. View the location map here.
| 17:00 – 17:25 | Lecture by Laura Morales, Institute for Public Goods and Policies |
| 17:25 – 18:00 | Question and answer session |
| 18:00 – 19:00 | Drinks reception, open to all in-person attendees |
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