Plenary – Carwyn Jones, First minister of Wales
On Wednesday morning, First minister of Wales Carwyn Jones, discussed the issues surrounding the Scottish referendum for its independence and the future of the United Kingdom. He reminded the crowd present that there is no functional federalism in the UK that he describes as implying a “balance of powers”, mostly because the states are subjects to Westminster decisions and are not demographically and geographically alike. First minister Jones believes that UK should not forget about federalism, and that three key principles must be kept in mind within the constitutional debate: the respect for devoted legislature; the parity of structures; the evolution of the executive and legislative competences. He brought up some questions if the independence of Scotland is to happen, some of them mostly logistical (what will be the new flag? What will the rest of the country be called?), others institutional and constitutional.
Award Session – Karl Deutsch Award
Prof. Pippa Norris, this year’s recipient of the Karl Deutsch Award, gave a lecture in front of a packed room on ‘When do elections fail and whydoes this matter?’ Within her research program, The Electoral Integrity Project, Pippa Norris explores why some elections are considered as failures (Thailand, Ukraine, and Afghanistan), and brought up some criteria who defies a failed or a successful election such as legitimacy and electoral integrity (feeling of political legitimacy – voting participation, peaceful demonstrations, violent protests, international norms).
Special Session – The MOOCs Challenge for Political Science
IPSA 2.0 is on its way! In collaboration with the IPSA Portal, managed by Mauro Calise at University of Naples – Federica II, massive open online courses (MOOCs) were launched on Wednesday following in the footsteps of major institution such as Princeton and London School of Economics. The main purpose of IPSA’s MOOCs is providing courses aimed towards Global South students and professors, in French, English and possibly Spanish, and to teach basics concepts of political science. Werner Patzelt, Giliberto Capano, Helen Milner and Guy Lachapelle discussed the future of online courses, and where IPSA should stand on this specific matter.
Session speciale – Vivr(e) l’humour politique
Est-ce que l’humour peut être politique? C’est la question à laquelle Christian Vanasse, Michel Garneau (Garnotte), Fred Dubé et Nabila ben Youssef ont tenté de répondre lors de cette session animée par Emmanuel Choquette. Tous ont répondu que l’humour est toujours politique, et que même discuter des rapports hommes-femmes, sous-entendent parfois des concepts patriarcaux. Ils ont estimé que leur rôle en tant qu’humoristes était de dénoncer, et parfois d’éduquer les gens sur des enjeux politiques auxquels ils ne se seraient pas intéressés auparavant. Christian Vanasse a d’ailleurs mentionné qu’il faisait de l’humour pour les militants, et que grâce è l’humour politique, il se sentait un peu moins colérique et plus « humain ». Ils ont toutefois souligné que l’humour politique est une responsabilité à double-tranchant, nécessitant de la nuance, de la recherche et du dosage. Michel Garneau a souligné qu’une distance physique et temporelle est parfois nécessaire avant de pouvoir rire d’un événement ou d’une situation tragique, tout en ajoutant qu’en humour, il ne faut pas avoir de tabou. La session suscita un intérêt important de la communauté médiatique, et fût organisé en collaboration avec l’École nationale de l’humour.
Blueberry Soup
Eileen Jerrett presented her documentary, Blueberry Soup, about the Icelandic “people’s movement” following the financial crisis in 2008, where the people ask for more accountability from their leaders and their bankers. A philosophical and artistic documentary on how democracy “does not need strong leaders, but rather strong people who can think for themselves”. A Q&A session followed with the director, where the audience was invited to give their impressions and comments on the screening.
