News archive
For current News about the department, go to the News page.
2009-10 academic year
At the end of the 2009-10 academic year Dr Jon Slapin moved to take up a new position at the University of Houston, Texas. We wish him well in his new position.
On 22 July 2010 the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution issued its final Report on elections and the electoral system. The Committee was assisted greatly in its endeavours by the work of two PhD students in the department, Séin Ó Muineacháin and Matt Wall, who were singled out for praise by the committee's acting chairperson, Jim O'Keeffe TD, when he launched the Report in Leinster House. In addition, three members of the department staff made presentations to the Committee in autumn 2009, as detailed below.
Dr Jacqueline Hayden was presented with a Provost's Teaching Award at a ceremony on 10 June 2010. These awards recognise outstanding teaching quality and commitment within Trinity College Dublin, and Dr Hayden's award reflects the enthusiasm that she brings to her teaching and that in turn she generates among her students. In the words of one of her nominations, her 'enthusiasm and commitment to a high-quality student experience are second to none in our School'. For full details, click here.
On 18 May 2010 Dr Raj Chari made a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs, specifically on the subject of the regulation of lobbying. The following day his co-authored book on the subject was launched by Senator Ivana Bacik in European House on Dawson Street, Dublin; for full details see the regulatelobbying site.
On 2 February 2010 the Department co-hosted a public consultation on electoral reform with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution in Trinity’s Public Theatre. This was the first time in Trinity’s history that a fully constituted Joint Committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas has sat in Trinity and only the second time in the history of the Oireachtas that a formal Committee has sat outside the Oireachtas. The meeting was well attended and generated a lively discussion, with contributions by students and staff from the department. Fuller information from the committee's press release, Trinity's news page, and media coverage.
In late 2009 Michael Marsh (4 November), Michael Gallagher (18 November) and Ken Benoit (9 December) made presentations to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution, which is reviewing the PR-STV electoral system that has been used at all general elections in Ireland since independence. Michael Marsh addressed the impact of PR-STV upon intra-party competition, Michael Gallagher discussed the constituency service role of TDs and the question of whether this could be attributed in any significant measure to the electoral system, and Ken Benoit discussed the issues involved in the process of changing an electoral system.
In November 2009 the Department was awarded a place in the Excellence Group for Political Science in this year’s CHE (Centre for Higher Education Development in Germany) Excellence Ranking. The CHE Excellence Ranking highlights the research strengths of European higher education institutes and awarded the Excellence Group status to TCD’s Department of Political Science at the School of Social Sciences and Philosophy because of its outstanding achievements in citations and publications.
This is the second time the CHE has completed its annual ranking, this time focusing on the academic disciplines of economics, political science and psychology. The CHE Excellence Ranking is based on the performance on five key indicators with either a research orientation or an international dimension. For seven different subjects a group of 20 to 60 European universities were selected by their prominence in research and internationalisation indicators. This selected group of universities is called the 'Excellence Group' of the respective subject.
Speaking on the award, Professor of Comparative Political Behaviour and Faculty Dean Michael Marsh said: ‘The excellence of political science in TCD has been highlighted by several objective surveys in recent years and the department is delighted to see this rating confirmed by such an authoritative institute.’
The department is pleased to welcome new lecturers for the academic year 2009-10. Dr Elaine Byrne, who is well known as an Irish Times columnist, is teaching PO3630 Irish Politics; Dr Anna Gwiazda, who lectured at Dublin City University in 2008-09, has been appointed a full-time lecturer for 2009-10 and is teaching both PO2650 Comparative Politics and PO3670 Democracy and Development; and Dr Etain Tannam, a lecturer in the Irish School of Ecumenics, is teaching PO4700 Contemporary International Relations. Full details on each new lecturer on the Staff page.
2008-09 academic year
The prize for the best article in volume 18 (2008) of JEPOP (Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties) was awarded to 'Election pledges and their enactment in coalition governments: a comparative analysis of Ireland' by Rory Costello and Robert Thomson.
Dr Clionadh Raleigh has been appointed to a lectureship in Trinity's Department of Geography as from the start of the 2009-10 academic year. We wish her well in her new role and look forward to continued links given the BA in Political Science and Geography, and we are pleased that she will be teaching PO4710 African Politics in the 2009-10 academic year.
In September 2009 the department admitted the first students to its two new undergraduate degree programmes: LLB in Law and Political Science, and BA in Political Science and Geography. These programmes add to the new PPES (Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology) degree that commenced in October 2008. Full details of how to apply for all courses can be found on Trinity's Admissions website.
In June 2009 postgraduate researchers in the department organised a one-day conference on political reform in conjunction with the Political Studies Association of Ireland, which included presentations by members of the department and by academics from other universities on the island. This represented a response by the political science community to the current debates on whether the country's political institutions are 'fit for purpose', and generated significant media interest.
In May 2009 Dr Robert Thomson was elected to Fellowship of Trinity College Dublin in recognition of his scholarship and research achievements and his contribution to College.
In November 2008 Professors Michael Gallagher and Michael Marsh made a submission and presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution. Their presentation concerned the effectiveness (or otherwise) of the Referendum Commission in informing the electorate about the issues involved in the Lisbon Treaty referendum, and the modalities of referendum campaigning and constitutional amendment in the light of decisions of the Supreme Court in the McKenna (1995) and Coughlan (2000) cases.
At the annual conference of the PSAI (Political Studies Association of Ireland) in Galway, 17-19 October 2008, Dr Brighid Brooks Kelly's doctoral thesis on 'An exploration of the relationship between consociationalism and stability in plural societies throughout the world' was announced as the winner of the Basil Chubb prize 2008 awarded by the PSAI for the best politics PhD thesis submitted to an Irish university in 2007. This marks the second time that a TCD thesis has won the prize in three years, Dr Eoin O'Malley's thesis having won the inaugural prize in 2006. (For a list of recent thesis completions, click here.)
In the summer of 2008 the department made three new contract lectureship appointments. It is delighted that Dr Clionadh Raleigh (University of Essex), Dr Rene Lindstadt (State University of New York at Stony Brook) and Dr Jonathan Slapin (University of Nevada Las Vegas) joined the department as from October 2008. Rene Lindstadt specialises in political economy, Clionadh Raleigh has particular expertise in the area of political geography, and Jon Slapin's research includes the impact of political institutions upon bargaining power, with particular reference to the EU, and the estimation of preferences from party manifestoes. All three are very active researchers and highly committed teachers. Further details of each can be found on the Staff page.
Dr Jacqueline Hayden, who made an outstanding contribution to the department as a lecturer 2004-07, returns to the department for the academic year 2008-09. Her research interests include democratisation and transition, and she is currently completing a book on the trajectory of democratic transition in Poland.
Dr Raj Chari and Dr Gail McElroy are on sabbatical in 2008-09. Dr McElroy has secured a prestigious Jean Monnet Fellowship at the European University Institute in Florence.
Following the completion of Michael Gallagher's term of office, Professor Ken Benoit has been elected Head of Department for a three-year term (July 2008–July 2011).
Dr Etain Tannam, a full-time member of the department in 2007-08, took up a lectureship in the Irish School of Ecumenics in October 2008.
Three of the Department's part-time lecturing staff of 2007-08 have been appointed to full-time lectureships at other universities for the 2008-09 academic year. Shane MacGiollabhui has joined the Department of Government at University College Cork, while Dr Anna Gwiazda and Ecaterina McDonagh have joined the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University.
2007-08 academic year
- With the dissolution of the old BESS (Business, Economic and Social Studies) faculty, the department of Political Science (along with the departments of Economics, Philosophy and Sociology) became part of the new School of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Professor Michael Marsh was elected Head of this School in summer 2005 before, in December 2007, being elected as Dean of the new Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, entering office on 1 January 2008.
- In February 2008, The Irish Voter was published by Manchester University Press. The book analyses the first full-scale academic survey of Irish election voting behaviour. It was written by Professor Michael Marsh and Professor Richard Sinnott (UCD), along with two of the department's PhD graduates, John Garry and Fiachra Kennedy. It was launched by Olivia O'Leary in May 2008.
The department was able to welcome a number of new additions to its staff:
- The Department is pleased to welcome Dr Will Phelan as a new permanent appointment. Dr Phelan has an undergraduate degree from Oxford and a PhD from Harvard, and replaces Dr Nalini Persram as the department's IR specialist.
- Dr Robert Thomson has been appointed to a permanent position in the department. His work on decision-making within the EU has led to a number of recent publications (see his web site for full details).
- Dr Etain Tannam has been appointed a full-time lecturer in the department. She teaches courses in European Public Policy and Issues in Contemporary Politics. Her research areas are the EU and Northern Ireland, cross-border co-operation and regional and cohesion policy.
- Courses are also being taught in 2007–08 by Dr Simon Boucher, Dr Andrew Glencross, Dr Anna Gwiazda, Ms Katya McDonagh, Mr Shane Mac Giollabhui and Mr Slava Mikhailov (links can be found at the departmental staff website). The department is delighted to welcome this group of new, highly committed teachers.
- Ken Benoit has been awarded a personal chair with the title Professor of Quantitative Social Sciences. He is on sabbatical in the academic year 2007–08. Michael Marsh has been awarded a personal chair with the title Professor of Comparative Political Behaviour. The department congratulates them both on these well merited promotions.
On the down side, the department has lost a number of valued colleagues, and it wishes them all well in the future:
- Professor Ron Hill retired at the end of September 2007 after 38 years in the department. Long regarded as one of the world's leading experts on communist politics, since the early 1990s he has established an expertise in post-communist politics, Russian politics, and transitions to democracy. Generations of students will recall his stimulating lectures, his commitment to excellence, and his insistence that the basic rules of grammar are capable of being mastered by everyone. His wisdom and his all-round contribution to the department will be greatly missed.
- Dr Jacqueline Hayden left the department after three years of outstanding work, in particular teaching the Introduction to Political Science to over 400 first-year undergraduates each year and teaching the very popular final-year Issues in Contemporary Politics course.
- Dr Yee-Kuang Heng, after three years in the department teaching IR while Dr Nalini Persram was on a career break, has taken up a new position at one of the UK's leading IR departments, at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he has an office with a sea view and continues to produce high quality research output.
- Dr Nalini Persram, who joined the department in 1999 following the retirement of Professor Patrick Keatinge, has left to take up a position at York University in Toronto.
- In addition, several lecturers who contributed valuably to teaching in 2006-07 and in some cases other years too have moved on to other positions: Dr Alex Baturo, Ken McDonagh, Dr Garrett O'Boyle, and Dr Jonathan Westrup
Several members of the department, along with leading authorities from other universities and practising politicians, have combined to produce How Ireland Voted 2007 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), the definitive study of Ireland's 2007 election. The book was published on 9 November 2007, less than six months after the election, and was launched by John Gormley TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, on 4 December 2007. Full details on the Palgrave website.
Michael Gallagher remains head of department. A paperback edition of The Politics of Electoral Systems, which he co-edited with Paul Mitchell of the LSE, was published 10 January 2008 by Oxford University Press (22 February in the USA). Running to 662 pages (and costing a mere GB£27.50), it contains chapters on 22 countries across five continents along with comparative analysis of various aspects of electoral systems.
A number of PhD theses have recently been successfully defended, adding to the growing list of theses to come out of the department’s PhD programme. A full list of successful graduates is to be found elsewhere on the department’s web site: click here.